Silent Whispers
by Perdidit Amor
Summary: She wasn't human. She wasn't vampire, werewolf, or shapeshifter so what exactly was she? Edward Cullen is left hanging whenever he encounters the new girl, Isabella Swan, because she isn't any species he knows of. Will he be able to uncover her secrets?
1. Arrivals

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

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_Edward, _Esme's thoughts called to me from the lowest level of the house. I responded by stopping my music with a weary sigh and making my way downstairs. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett were standing there waiting for me. Esme smiled warmly at me as she looked up from the magazine she was skimming through. I gave her a miniscule smile of my own before leading the way to my Volvo.

Jasper sighed wearily as we began to near the school grounds, "A new student is coming to school today."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and I groaned, "I know, it's been on everyone's minds for weeks. I can only imagine today will be horrible."

Emmett snickered quietly but said nothing. I parked in the usual spot and we all got out one by one. Rosalie cocked her head in surprise as she surveyed the car next to ours. It had to be the new student's car because it was definitely not a car that I was used to seeing in Forks and it was much too high end to belong in this town. Rosalie's mind automatically identified it as a _Lamborghini Gallardo_. I was mildly curious to see the student that could own such expensive car that would move to Forks of all places. I dismissed the thoughts and walked to my first period class, setting an example to the rest of my siblings who still stood in front of the car.

I listened as the teacher droned on and on and patiently waited for the period to end and then repeated the cycle until lunch break came. After I gathered the tray of food that wouldn't be eaten I slid onto the seat of the cafeteria table my brothers and sisters were sitting at. I stared off, looking in no particular direction when the cafeteria door opened and I heard Jessica's high pitched voice, "Come sit with us Bella!"

"Alright." A soft murmur responded. I didn't look in the direction but attempted to tune into the girl's thoughts. Shock coursed through me as I heard nothing. Frustrated, I looked over in the general direction I smelled her from. My eyes widened in awe as I took in the girl's features. She had pale skin, almost as pale as my own, and straight raven colored hair. And then there was the aspect that haunted me the most, her eyes, she had deep violet knowing eyes. I know understood why all the male population of the school had been fawning over her the entire day. I concentrated even harder trying to break the barriers her mind seemed to have up; Still nothing. I felt disturbed but tried to pass it off as the amount of distance between us.

"Why'd you shrug?" Emmett asked. I looked up unaware that I had actually performed the action.

My brow furrowed, "I can't get any read on the new person… What about you Jasper, Alice?"

I ignored the alarm that seemed to radiate off my family. My power had never been warded off by anyone. Jasper's grip on the table tightened as he announced that he couldn't either. Everyone anxiously looked over at Alice.

"I can't see anything; nothing at all, even if it's not regarding the girl!" Alice whispered, panic etched on her features. Her eyes were large, disbelief obvious. Everyone exchanged frantic glances and we all tuned into the girl and Jessica's conversation.

"Are you looking at the Cullens'?" Jessica asked. For once I was thankful for her need to gossip.

"Hm?" Bella responded, seeming to come out of her thoughts.

Jessica rolled her eyes but once again asked, in the same eager tone. "Were you just watching the Cullens'?"

Bella turned to look at her, "Are you expecting me to know who they are?"

"Well…" Jessica began with a frown, and then she pointed in our direction. "They're that group over there in the far corner of the cafeteria.

"No. And you do realize that pointing is impolite." Bella's harmonious voice chided.

Jessica seemed to not here Bella. "I knew it! Ok, so, the one with the reddish brown hair is Edward Cullen, the one that is like seriously ripped is Emmett Cullen, and the really small girl is Alice Cullen. And then there are the Hale twins, the blonde guy, Jasper Hale, and the girl is Rosalie Hale."

"Ok." Bella simply responded sounding uninterested but I had seen her tense up when she first looked in our direction. Her pose was now in the same relaxed stance as it was before but I could tell she seemed a bit more alert. I traded a worried look with Jasper.

"Oh my gosh." Jessica continued to ramble. "Did you know that they are all together? Like together together. Jasper Hale is with Alice Cullen and Rosalie Hale is with Emmett Cullen. Edward Cullen is single but nobody here is good enough for him apparently. But it's so gross that they're together because they are all adopted by Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife Esme. Isn't it like illegal or something for them to go out with each other?"

The bell rang cutting off whatever Bella was going to say in response. She gracefully got out of her seat and walked out the cafeteria, not waiting for Mike Newton, who had, earlier, persisted on walking her to her next class. I watched in amusement as he ran after her.

"All of you try to find out some information on Swan." Rosalie said before strutting off. I swiftly proceeded to walk over to my Biology class. Isabella, as I figured out that was her real name, was sitting at my desk, next to my seat. Mike seemed to have caught up with her and he was chatting aimlessly while standing beside the table. Bella seemed to wish he would disappear. I bit my lip to hold back the smile that threatened to break out.

"Excuse me; I need to get to my seat." I told Mike, sending him off. Abruptly, Bella's expression turned severe and cold. Had I upset her? Did she actually want Mike to continue talking to her? I sat down bewildered and then stiffened as her scent hit me. It was the most delectable scent I had ever come across. I waited for the unbearable burn of my throat but nothing came. I tried to make sense of this as I watched her rigid pose, her hands gripping her notebook with unmistakable tension. My mind churned as it tried to come up with plausible explanations. As I was trying to comprehend everything I was barely aware of the bell ringing. I looked up in surprise as Bella lithely bound out the door. I passed through sixth period in a state of confusion as I tried to decipher what was going on.

Anxiously, I waited in my Volvo for my siblings to arrive so I could tell them what had occurred, even though I still wasn't exactly sure myself. They all came in at once.

"What happened?" Alice demanded. Hastily I recounted the events of Biology. We began to discuss it when suddenly Jasper turned and looked out the window.

"There's Bella." He announced. Immediately everyone focused on her. I noted how her clothes seemed to hint a vast sum of money like her car did, something I didn't notice earlier because I was too transfixed by her facial features. Bella seemed to pay know attention to the on lookers as they openly gawked at her. Instead, she swiftly walked over to her car before opening the door and sitting inside in one smooth movement.

Rosalie stared at her, shielded by my tinted windows. "Could she be a vampire with a special power?"

Bella's head moved to the exact spot Rosalie was in and she seemed to giggle before driving off, leaving us all stunned speechless.

Isabella Swan couldn't possibly be human… could she?

Emmett let out a whistle, "What is she?"

Perhaps that was the more important question in this case.

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**So what did you think? Should i continue the story? I'm not exactly pleased with how this chapter came out... I feel like something is missing and it isn't necissarily what I had originally planned for it to be but the next chapters should be better. Please review, reviews make me happy :)**

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	2. Conversations

I stepped on the gas as we headed home. A tense silence filled the air. I didn't even bother listening to anyone's thoughts because even if I wasn't a mind reader it would be obvious as to what they were thinking about. The house loomed over us as I swerved into the driveway. Alice had already called Carlisle and told him to come home early so we were all unsurprised when we saw his Mercedes. Quickly and quietly we all marched into the house.

"Isabella Swan." Rosalie said, as though that should explain everything.

Carlisle looked at Rosalie, waiting for her to say something more. Esme merely raised an eyebrow.

"What about Isabella Swan?" Carlisle sighed.

Emmett was quick to cut to the chase. "We don't think she is human."

Esme looked alarmed and Carlisle looked curious. "Is she a werewolf?"

"No."

"Vampire?"

"No."

"Shape shifter?"

"No."

Carlisle's eyebrows pushed together. "Do you think she is dangerous?"

Jasper stepped in. "We're not sure and we can't take her on until we know her strength because for all we now she can overpower us. It's difficult to tell when you aren't sure what she is."

"Do you really think violence is necessary?" Esme anxiously asked.

"I don't want it coming down either." Carlisle paused. "I propose we ask her to meet us and perhaps make some kind of treaty."

Rosalie hissed, "She is a threat I think we should just take her out. It would be one against seven; we would have the upper hand."

"But," I cut in. "Carlisle, I just thought I should tell you that none of our powers work on her. And Alice's visions completely disappeared, even if they regarding her."

Carlisle's immediately spun his head to face Alice. "Have you gotten your visions back yet?"

Alice slowly nodded. "They came back once she was a distance away from me."

"And Edward, Jasper, did both your powers not work at all or could you still sense the people around you?"

"I could still sense the people around me." I announced. We all looked in Jasper's direction.

"I was still capable of using my power on others." said Jasper. Carlisle nodded while absentmindedly rubbing his chin.

"For the next few days we'll try too find out as much as we can about her and determine her behavior patterns." He answered, breaking the silence. Everyone nodded once while going to their rooms, Carlisle to his study.

_Edward, come here. I need to talk to you._ His thoughts called. I obediently went to the room.

"Yes?"

"I understand that you have a class with Isabella." Carlisle spoke.

"I do," I began. "Except she wouldn't talk to me. I think she may know what we are all though her actions might be for some other unknown reason. Like I said it is just an assumption."

"Alright." Carlisle sighed, pushing his chair back. "I guess you can go."

The atmosphere in the house was apprehensive throughout the night as we waited for the chance to see Bella tomorrow. When the time came to go to school no one needed to be urged to get into the car and get to school. I waited for both lunch and biology to come; boiling with an impatience and sense of anticipation I wasn't used to. Finally the bell rang, announcing that lunch had now begun. I sped out of the room and met up with my siblings at our table, we anxiously awaited for Bella to walk into the room. And then she came into the room. The world didn't end as I had almost expected it to; instead she just passed our table, laughing breezily at something Jessica said.

Everyone's eyes widened as she passed by, I assumed it was because her delectable scent didn't send a burn down their throats, and looking into their thoughts I was right. Last night I had spent majority of the time debating one whether or not to tell them about it but the greedy side of me, that I try so hard to push down urged me not to tell them. To let myself be the only one who could savor the smell of Bella. Of course I was kidding myself when I thought my siblings wouldn't get a whiff of her.

They turned their accusing glares at me. I shrugged trying to pass it off as forgetfulness. Of course it didn't work.

_We'll talk about this later,_ Alice thought as she gave me stern look. I turned my head sheepishly and then I picked up some of Jessica's thoughts. It was, as always, thoughts with a jealous tone to it but I heard Bella's name pop up once or twice. Curious I listened closer but found it was nothing but jealously because of the fact that Mike had told her maybe to the Girl's Choice Dance, she suspected it had something to do with Bella.

By the time lunch was over I had learned virtually nothing about Bella except the fact that she moved here from Phoenix, Arizona. Disappointed I made my way over to Biology. There Bella was, sitting in the seat beside mine, declining Mike's request to ask her to the dance claiming she would be out of town that day.

I sat down in my seat and she seemed to stiffen fractionally almost an unnoticeable amount before relaxing her pose.

"Hello I'm Edward Cullen." I introduced myself, determined to find something out about her.

Her mouth was set in a disapproving line before she flashed me a dazzling smile. "Isabella Swan. But please call me Bella."

I grinned, triumphant that I had gotten some kind of response. "So Bella, I hear you came from Phoenix Arizona. Is that true?"

"Yes." She answered without missing a beat.

"You don't look like it." I observed.

Bella laughed, her laugh was a transfixing sound and I suddenly felt blissfully happy just hearing the noise. "I know, I've heard that before, but I don't tan, I burn."

I paused for a moment, trying to regain my senses. I didn't fail to notice how her hand had flexed on pencil after she laughed, relaying some kind of irritation or anger. I ignored it, eager to get some more information. "So what made you move here?"

She looked at me and opened her mouth to answer when Mr. Banner walked in, effectively quieting the class. She looked at me and smiled apologetically. I waited for a chance to talk to her, resolute on getting an answer.

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**Chapter 2 is offically out :) Sorry if it's a little short but I was limited time-wise. Tell me what you think. Anyway, thanks for all the great reviews, I think i'm just going to choose to ignore the first one because otherwise I would probably end up ranting about how much it annoys me when people write those types of reviews and then don't have stories of their own and are convinced they are amazing writers and I would probably also say some really B!tchy stuff and well, you obviously get the point. Ok, so now that I got that out of my system (in a not so subtle way) I just wanted to know it really does interest me to here you guys's ideas and even suggestion on how to make my story better :)**


	3. Meetings

We finished our lab project early so I finally got the chance I had so badly wanted to talk to Bella.

"So…" I began. "What were you saying earlier about moving here?"

I saw Bella chew her lip, trying not to smile at my not so subtle attempt to get the information out of her. "My stepfather is a minor league baseball player and is always traveling and my mom missed him while he was away so she sent me here to live with Charlie so she could go be with Phil."

It sounded so… normal. I was expecting something big, dramatic; some juicy story that would cause lots of gossip.

"That sounds a little unfair." I noted.

Bella gave me a small smile. "Not really. I was all to willing to come and live with Charlie. In fact, I had been planning on maybe moving in with him for a while before my mom decided to send me here."

I nodded. Just then the bell rang and Mr. Banner excused the class. "So what class do you have next?"  
Even to me that sounded overeager, almost as though I was Mike. I suppressed a shudder at the thought. Bella seemed to notice also but she said nothing. "I have P.E."

I noticed Mike running to catch up with us. I saw Bella look in the direction I was looking at also. Weariness settled on her face and she rolled her eyes. "Well, I think now is time to disappear, wouldn't want to get caught by Mike."

She winked at me and flashed me an award winning smile before seeming to blend in with the crowd and disappear. I stood there dazed for a second. Unfortunately for me, Mike broke me out of my blissfully content state. "Have you seen Bella? I could've sworn she was right here!"  
He looked around and I imagined a tail wagging on the back of him. I guess he got over his rejection knowing he had Jessica as a back up date; I internally rolled my eyes at the thought. The words came out sounding almost jealous. "No Mike."

I then spotted Bella in the crowd, and by the looks of it Mike did too, she was talking to Eric. I tuned in to their conversation and heard Bella declining Eric's invitation for her to ask him to the Girl's Choice Dance, she said the same thing she told Mike, that she would be out of town that day. I laughed slightly as Eric sulked off, obviously upset by the rejection. I turned my head to watch Bella again but she was no where in sight I curiously looked around and spotted her all the way at the entrance of the girls' locker room.

I waited for 6th period to end, feeling extremely impatient and irritable due to the fact that the period seemed to be never ending. When you live forever you eventually learn to endure it, so the feeling was so foreign and new that I was taken by surprise. Of course, it may have had to do with my plan to "accidentally" bump into, well not in a literal sense seeing as that would probably knock her off her feet, Bella and get the opportunity to find out more about her. I was determined to discover what she was. Finally the school day ended and I quickly, quick for a human anyway, was out the door. Conveniently, Bella was standing a few feet away from me. I tapped her shoulder and formally greeted her. "Hello Bella."

I briefly inhaled her sweet fragrance. She looked amused, almost as though she knew what I was doing. "Hello Edward."

"So, which one is your car?" I asked while looking around the parking lot, feigning ignorance. She looked at me and laughed briefly.

"Don't pretend you don't know. The moment I parked the car here I realized everyone would know it was my car, considering it is a little….extravagant, flamboyant, what ever you want to say." She answered while jutting her chin out in the general direction of her car.

"My sister loves your car." I mentioned before I could stop it. "She really has a thing for cars."

Bella's eyes seemed to twinkle. "I think we'd have a thing or two in common then. I've spent lots of time working on this car to surpass the condition it was in before."

"You're saying it was in bad condition?" I questioned. Bella shook her head.

"I just like my things to be in impeccable condition. It was of course in perfect condition when I bought it because I bought it new but I played around with the gears a little." She said. Her lips then tightened in a line almost as though she said something she didn't want to. I mentally replayed the scene inside my head trying to find some kind of slip up in the conversation but found none. I shrugged it off.

"Mine is the Volvo." I told her.

"Go figure." She muttered under her breath. I pretended I didn't here but tried to decipher the words. Coincidentally our cars were parked next to each other again. I walked her over to the door of her cars and saw my siblings eyes widen fractionally as they saw her walking with me. I motioned for them to join me.

"Bella," I said. "I'd like to introduce you to my brothers and sisters."

I saw her stiffen and facial expression become guarded and somewhat tense. Everyone walked up one by one. Emmett was first.

"Hi I'm Emmett." He introduced himself. Bella's smile looked somewhat forced before she got her emotions in hand and flashed him a radiant smile. She shook his hand.

"I'm Bella, but I think you all know that by now, after all, this is Forks, Washington."

Rosalie came out next her face slightly disapproving, she didn't hold out her hand like Emmett did but just gave Bella a tight smile. "Rosalie."

Bella raised and eyebrow but said nothing. I noticed something slightly off in her appearance for a second but it disappeared before I could put my finger on it. She nodded curtly in Rosalie's direction. Rosalie looked taken aback by the not-so-warm-welcome. I suppressed a smirk, I was glad someone actually had it in them to treat Rosalie the way she treated them.

"Jasper Hale," Jasper introduced himself, sending out calming waves. She once again displayed a resplendent smile.

"Charmed," She simply stated. Alice bounced forward.

"I'm Alice!" She exclaimed and then moved forward to hug Bella. Bella went rigid at the unexpected contact and she took a deep breath before returning the hug and smiling.

"It is so great to meet you."

Alice laughed, "Pleasure to meet you as well. Why don't you sit with us at lunch tomorrow?"

Bella looked uncertain and a little irked but she nodded, "Definitely that would be so much fun."

We watched as she got into her car after waving goodbye to us. I looked around us and realized we had made a spectacle due to the fact that we never talked to anyone outside ourselves. People started whispering. Tyler boldly stepped forward seemingly unaware as to what was causing all the strange looks in our direction. I slowed down blocking the way Bella's exit as I realized he was going to ask Bella to the dance. I laughed a little at the priceless look on her face as Tyler knocked on her window. She had obviously realized his intentions.

Bella rolled down the window, revealing leather interior. "Ah, yes Tyler?"

"Hi Bella, I was wondering if you wanted to go the dance with me?" He was very straight to the point. Every one of my siblings were watching with grins on there faces as annoyance flashed across Bella's face.

"Wasn't it a girl's choice?"

Tyler blushed. "Yeah but wouldn't you want to go with me?"

Vexation settled across her features as Tyler didn't get the hint. Jasper and Emmett let out a guffaw as Bella took a calming breath.

"Didn't you hear I was going to be out of town that day?" She asked.

Tyler nodded and I saw anger, real anger, flicker across her face. "Then why, pray tell me, did you ask me?"

"I thought you were letting Mike and Eric down easy." Tyler continued, completely oblivious.

"Look Tyler." She said resignation in her tone, surprising us after the harsh sarcastic remarks from earlier. "I'm not going to be here so why don't you run along and go tell all your other friends to stop bugging me and following me like a damn puppy."

She had said it like she was tired of the behavior and from her tone we had all been expecting a different response. Rosalie laughed while the rest of us were silent. Bella looked briefly guilty and then her face settled into an unreadable expression as she looked ahead, past us. Tyler walked away, looking like someone just shot his grandma.

What just happened?

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**Thanks for the reviews :) I hope the grammer is alright in this story, if it isn't, i'm sorry I'm kind of writing these stories while it is late (because it just seems to keep happening that way) and my brain isn't fully functioning. If you are confused by this chapter, don't worry, it is purposely meant to be like that and it will be explained later. Tell me how i did on this chapter. Once again i'm not sure I like how it turned out, it kind of just happened when i was writing. Also thank you for pointing out my grammatical mistakes from the previous chapter. Really I don't mind suggestions or constructive critism, feel free to tell me, in fact i welcome it. Anyway, please review.**


	4. Discoveries

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Rosalie adjusted her hair while looking in the mirror. I glared at her in annoyance.

"Are you going to be any help?"

She paused for a moment as though actually considering it. "No."

"Rose…" Emmett whined.

"Do you really think we're going to solve it? It has been a month since then and she completely stopped talking to any of us! Not only that but we've also had this month to try to figure out what happened that day and to figure out what she is but no luck. I seriously doubt the chances of our discovery of her species or whatever you want to call it." Rosalie announced, her voice raising every syllable until she was yelling.

I rubbed my temples. Carlisle's calm voice spoke. "I think we should just approach her. At this point it doesn't matter about the relationships at school" He gave each of us a look. "It is about whether or not she is a danger, so far nothing bad has been reported but we should be ready and perhaps have a treaty if something does."

"I agree with you." Jasper said. I turned my glare at him. He held his hands up.

_Just because she won't talk to us at school doesn't mean she can ignore a request for a treaty._

Rosalie scowled. "Of course you agree with him, Jasper."  
"Kids," Esme's soft voice cut in, chiding us gently. "This is serious; no personal feelings can get involved."

Emmett wrapped his arms around Rosalie's waist and pulled her down onto the couch, away from the mirror. Everyone slowly nodded, one by one, consenting the plan, although in my opinion it wasn't much of a plan. Before any thing more could be said I left, going up to my room. I found it so frustrating. After she met all my siblings she didn't talk to us, I had been a month since she actually conversed with me without having to. Her fan club seemed to have forgotten her words because they were persistent as ever and everyday I had to watch her decline all their offers to go on dates. I vowed that I would get her to talk to me tomorrow.

Slowly, the night gave way to daylight and before I knew it we were at school again. We were all going to approach her after school and tell her of the meeting. She would have no choice to accept. I felt oddly nervous as the end of the school day rapidly approached. Was it because I was going to talk to her again after so long? Sooner than I expected the bell rang and Biology started. I watched as Bella slid into the seat next to me.

"Hello." I greeted. She gave me a tightlipped smile signaling that she heard me. I huffed, annoyed that my personal plans had been thwarted as not another word was exchanged between us through the rest of the period. When Mr. Banner dismissed us I watched longingly as she seemed to glide out the door. Spanish passed by in a blur and before I knew it my siblings and I were waiting beside her car. She approached us, seeming not even the tiniest bit surprised that we were here.

We all greeted her and she responded politely. Jasper spoke up. "We'd like to meet you after school, at our house, if you would so kindly agree."

Bella tilted her head to a side. "Now why would you want that?"

I read Jasper's thoughts and they seemed to be briefly befuddled. "Erm… Well to discuss the rules of a treaty of sorts."

He looked slightly hopeful. I saw Rosalie bite her lip to restrain laughter. Emmett let out a chuckle. Alice and I managed to keep our poker faces on. Bella looked amused. "Of course I'll come."

Jasper scratched his head, unsure of what to do next. Bella giggled. "I think I'll need your address to get to your house."

"Oh." Was all Jasper said, he quickly wrote down the address on a piece of paper and handed it over to her, embarrassment was clear on his part. Bella gave us a small smile and then got into her car, driving of. I accelerated my car on the way home, it was ridiculous of course, expecting her to come right away but I still wanted to get there. Carlisle and Esme were already waiting for us; we quickly informed them that she accepted.

I waited impatiently for her arrival and she finally knocked on the door at exactly 7:00. I looked at her admiringly as I took in her outfit; she was dressed nicely in black slacks, a violet shirt and matching heels that was a replica of the shade of her transfixing eyes. Her hair was curled and she wore simple diamond studs. In her head Alice went on about the designer origins of her clothing. I stifled a laugh.

"Hello, I'm Carlisle Cullen and this is my wife Esme." Carlisle greeted her calmly, although his head was whirling with confusion of what she was. Esme smiled at her warmly and Bella smiled softly back at her.

"Bella, Bella Swan," Bella introduced herself all though it was wholly unnecessary.

"So…" Emmett began breaking the awkward silence, as none of us knew how to begin.

Bella laughed. "You guys wanted to make a treaty of sorts"

She quoted Jasper's words from earlier and Jasper smiled sheepishly at her, she winked at him. Alice was too busy prattling about her outfit, in her head, to notice her husband slightly ogling Bella. I raised an eyebrow at Jasper and his eyes widened as he realized what he was doing, quickly he composed his expression.

"Yes." Carlisle said. "First it would be vital to know what we both are, my family and I are-"

He was cut off by Bella. "Vampires, I know. And your eyes give away the fact that you drink from animal blood rather than human."

Carlisle looked at her in surprise. "Yes, now would you care to inform us of what you are?"

"Well…" Bella began. "You see I'm not sure how to put it. There isn't exactly a name for me…"

She flashed Carlisle a dazzling smile leaving him temporarily speechless.

"Any words in description?" Carlisle asked.

Bella was silent for a moment. "The hunter doesn't seem to take it well that is actually the prey in this case."

A shiver rippled through my spine and I noticed how everyone shuddered as well when she once again revealed her smile.

"So you are saying that you're the hunter?" Rosalie questioned her voice timid for once.

Bella nodded. "You see I'm kind of like you guys… In the sense that I have a very different life style than I should and also through the fact that I feed of something that is most definitely not human food."

I looked at her in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"

"I feed off of energy and emotions." She said. Alice looked alarmed and so was I, but some how I couldn't comprehend that something as beautiful as her would do that.

She lightly trailed her finger up Jasper's arm. "And you see, vampires are the perfect prey, considering they have a immense supply of energy and can feel so much more than a human could."

I looked at Jasper's expression and I realized that instead of the fear it was lust. Bella pulled her hand back. "You see it takes me a lot of restraint, to not kill you, because I haven't fed truly in a long time."

Carlisle looked at her with a mixture of fright and awe. "What do you mean?"

"I feed in a different way than I should. Instead of killing people I take the energy from the sun and moon. They both are an infinite supply of energy so I would never run out. Think about it as… going solar powered."

She smiled at us. Rosalie clung to Emmett. "Humans know so little about the universe. They have such little comprehension of the power it harnesses and what wonders occur there."

This time she stood with in close proximity of Jasper. He stared at her with wide eyes. "Of course, I would never abuse the power I have because of it. Others maybe but I try to be the best I can."

Jasper hands outstretched to grab Bella's waist. She giggled and jumped back in a fluid movement. Alice's brow furrowed in confusion because now Bella was playing with her hand. Soon lust replaced the confusion. I looked at Alice in bewilderment as did everyone else.

"You see, no one can resist my charm, male of female, when I try, and believe me, this is only a fraction of what I can do." Bella grinned and lightly kissed Alice's head before coming up to me. I didn't know how strong my reaction would be, because she affected me strongly even when she wasn't trying. I looked at her worriedly.

"But," Bella said. "I don't do that to people…"

Alice and Jasper were still looking at Bella with a longing, she snapped her fingers and suddenly their expressions were normal. I watched in panic as Bella's form began to blur.

"What's happening?" I whispered. There was a burst of a golden light and there Bella stood… except she wasn't Bella, but she still was. I exchanged a glance with Emmett.

"It's still me." She laughed.

Carlisle timidly stepped forward. "Is this your true form?"

"Yes and no. Yes because this is one of my forms, I have many but they all are still my true form."

Emmett looked at her in awe. "That is friggin awesome!"

Bella giggled. In this form she had honey colored curls that cascaded down her back, she was no longer in her previous outfit… in fact I wasn't even sure what she was wearing. It was a golden, filmy bit of material that seemed to be made of some substance that was beyond anyone's comprehension, it barely covered a body that was perfectly slim, lithe, and curvy. Her eyes were gold but not the same as ours; it was almost as though hers was shade upon shade of gold. I noticed she was barefoot. She looked radiant.

"No worries though, I'm on the good side." She winked at Carlisle.

Rosalie's thoughts had an almost jealous tremor to them. "But how do we know for sure?"

Bella's fingers started combing through Rosalie's hair and immediately Rose's body seemed to relax although I didn't see any of the same lust I saw in Alice and Jasper's eyes earlier. "Have there been any reports of dead or missing people recently?"

"No." Rosalie reluctantly responded.

"Rose, you're just jealous, to you it's all about the looks." I said while rolling my eyes. Bella looked at me.

"Actually, no, that isn't what it's like to her."

I opened my mouth to protest but she stopped me before I could say anything. "Ultimately beauty was Rosalie's downfall. She isn't going to let that happen again. Yes, I understand that you are a mind reader," At that point I gaped at her in surprise, she was never informed of this. "But you never take the time to actually decipher Rosalie's thoughts. Beauty is her control. She perfects herself so much that ultimately she can make anyone desire to do anything for her. No one has used seduction to get what they want like Rosalie has."

I looked down in embarrassment and guilt, I had always assumed Rosalie to be vain, for all the years I lived with her and then Bella comes and figures her out in no time. Bella smiled warmly at me. "Don't feel too bad, Rosalie purposely sends out vain and egotistical thoughts to you. She doesn't want to be too attached but she needs to understand that you guys are her family and aren't going anywhere, you guys are after all, like me, immortal."

"You're better than Dr. Phil!" Emmett boomed. Everyone relaxed and laughed. Bella's eyes sparkled.

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**So now you know what Bella is... more will be explained later. Tell me what you guys think about this chapter. I hope it was good, I'm kind of scared I didn't pull it off (it took practically two hours to write... I was procrastinating on my homework). **


	5. Information

We were now all sitting down in the living room, I found the name very ironic as none of us were technically living, all eyes directed at Bella.

"What else do you want to know?" She asked.

I piped up, determined to get the incident that had been pestering me for days, off my mind. "What exactly happened roughly a month ago?"

She looked towards me. "Of course you'd have a question about that…hm… where to begin…Ok, well you remember how I told you how vampires are ideal prey? Well, all of your scents and emotions struck me during the first day; I wasn't used to such a pull, especially considering I hadn't fed in a long time. That night, I fooled myself into believing I could handle it better the next day. I didn't feed. The next day I did have better control but after being in such close range to all of you, after Edward introduced us, I didn't feel fully in control. Especially once Alice hugged me. When I'm not in control it becomes hard to keep hold of my emotions that is why I snapped at Eric… Tyler, whichever one of those it was."

Alice looked sheepish. "Sorry for hugging you."

Bella laughed. "It is ok."

"So does that mean it pains you to be so close to us right now?" Carlisle asked curiously. Esme scooted a little further as though that would help Bella.

"Esme you could go back to your original spot. No, it doesn't necessarily pain me right now for a number of reasons; the first being I fed recently in anticipation for this meeting, and the second is because I've had time to adjust to your scents. That is what I was doing that month, making myself all but immune to your scents; it's a harder task than you'd think. That is why I ignored your family majority of the time; it was too hard to stay focused."

Carlisle nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting."

"So…" Jasper began. "Do you have any powers?"

Emmett nodded eager for a show. Bella smiled. "It depends on what you mean by powers. Ultimately I can feel your emotions… like Jasper. And when I want to… seduce someone, if that is what you want to call it, I can get a slight taste of their thoughts. Not exactly a full on view but a taste because I can plant a command in their head and when I do that it gives me the chance to take a peek. Although most of the times I don't need to plant the idea inside their head… and then there is always the powers I get by using the energy of space…"

"And that is…?" Emmett prodded, clearly impatient for her to go on. Bella laughed at his childish antics and grabbed his arm. One second they were there and the next they were swooping in the air. My mouth dropped in amazement. Not only could Bella fly, which I supposed was because of zero-gravity in space, but it seemed that she had enough strength to pull Emmett with her. It was astounding to watch her. She seemed to be filled with such exuberance as she swooped around, defying Newton's Laws of Gravity. And then of course you had to take into consideration how skillfully she displayed her talents. She did summersaults and twirls with such speed and precision that I was sure to any human's eyes she would be merely a blur of gold. She set Emmett on the ground and he seemed to have to take a minute to regain all his senses.

"I am never," he gasped. "Going on an airplane again!"

Bella smiled. "Airplanes fight against the air. Their flight is bumpy and forced. I fly with air."

Emmett looked back up to her. "I have no idea what you meant by flying with air but that was awesome!"

She arched an eyebrow and her tone became dubious. "Awesome?"

"Brilliant, amazing, breath-taking, beyond my wildest dreams," Emmett corrected himself. Bella smiled in satisfaction.

"It was wasn't it?" She giggled. Alice started jumping up and down in excitement she raised her hand.

"Me next!" She squealed. Bella looked amused but complied. She grabbed each of Alice's arms in her hands and then started to rise. She then swooped and spun displaying a similar show to the one before. She set down a speechless Alice.

"That was a power gotten from using the universe's energy, yes, I could get more if I wanted to… but giving me too much power would be dangerous." She became serious toward the end.

Rosalie cocked her head. "Why not give you too much power? You're good, from what you've displayed, and you've resisted getting more power than you need."

"I am," Bella paused as though thinking about how to word something. "A power hungry, manipulative, bitch sometimes. If I get all that power there is no saying whose side I'll be on."

We all gaped at the reality of it and the bluntness of her tone. Rosalie's voice trembled. "So you're saying you're dangerous after all, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not. I worked to make myself invulnerable to the pull, to the craving, of taking more than I need." Bella explained while placing a reassuring hand on Rosalie's shoulder. Rosalie exhaled in relief.

"I think that is all that needs to be discussed tonight about what I am." Bella said.

Carlisle shook his head quickly. "Just one more question, are there anymore of your kind out there?"

Everyone looked inquisitively in Bella's direction. "You don't need to be on the look out for anymore of my kind. There has only been one other and she is long dead. She is in fact older than me."

"But I thought you said that you're immortal." Jasper said.

"Everything can cease to exist," She explained. "For example vampires can die again. She died by taking such vast power, that not even her could be able to handle. She killed so many people because of her hunger for power. You know, historians got it all wrong. December 12, 2012, 12/21/12, the date of the Apocalypse, isn't the date of the Apocalypse at all. They misread the Mayan calendar, which is in fact not Mayan at all, but something much more ancient than that. It isn't 2012. It was so much further back that 2012."

"Was?" Esme inquired.

"Was," Bella confirmed. "It already happened and a whole species was wiped out because of it. The calendar was recording a past date. Not a future date. And do you want to know how it happened?"

Everyone unthinkingly leaned forward and simultaneously nodded. "It was the death of the other one of my kind. She died because she took more power than she could handle. And that is why there aren't anymore of my kind. I could probably find a way to make some but after the disaster such as the first one you wouldn't want that. They would be uncontrolled and would probably end the world."

All of our eyes were wide, genuine fear filling our dead hearts for once. I had greatly underestimated Bella.

"Wow." Alice let out a breath.

Bella shrugged. "I guess."

"That's kind of freaky." Emmett commented. Bella looked at a clock on the wall.

"I think I'd better be leaving now." She said.

"Don't leave now!" Esme said.

Bella smiled stunningly. "But I have some business to attend to…Don't worry, I'll come back tomorrow. It is after all going to be a long weekend."

I had been so caught up with everything that I hadn't realized we would have a prolonged break for the next few days. Everyone nodded, happy with the plan. Bella turned to leave. A flash of golden light blinding us all for a second before it was Bella back in her violet-eyed form. Her hand was on the doorknob and then suddenly Rosalie stopped her.

"Wait!" Rosalie cried. "Do you think…that tomorrow I could take a look at your car?"

Bella smiled, not a moments hesitation as she answered. "Of course you can. Bye everyone, see you tomorrow!"

I watched in admiration as she walked away. Bella Swan was definitely something.

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**Tell me what you thought of this chapter. This was to let you know more about Bella and her abilities. Thanks for all your previous reviews (they were great, sorry I don't have the time to respond to them). I'll try to update soon. :)**


	6. The Past

I stared at the door and jumped at the sound of the doorbell ringing, I hadn't sensed anyone nearby. Quickly I ran over to the door, childishly sticking my tongue out at Alice who also had the same plans, when she beat me. We all had been waiting for the arrival, every one of us sitting on the couch, staring at the door while expecting her knock on the door. It was silly in all honestly but something about Bella had, no doubt, intrigued us all. Then again, how could she not? Alice yanked open the door revealing Bella. Her hair was up in a messy pony tail and she was wearing dark skinny jeans and a green figure-fitting long sleeved cashmere shirt and a black coat with black pumps, the outfit once again hinted designer origins but I supposed they all did. I was a bit disturbed that I would take so much notice of her outfits but with Bella I seemed to take note of everything. A dazzling smile was pasted on her face.

We chorused or hello's. Bella responded with a simple. "Hello everyone."

Rosalie immediately went outside to take a look at Bella's car. Bella followed and everybody else seemed to gravitate in that general direction afterwards. I watched, feeling amused as Rose fawned over every detail of Bella's car and when she rambled on about the mechanics. Bella seemed to just linger there for a while before Carlisle approached her.

"Can we talk?" he quietly asked. Bella nodded and followed him into the house. Everyone stared at their retreating figures, knowing that Carlisle was most likely going to ask her some more questions. I tuned myself to Carlisle's thoughts, getting ready to eavesdrop on their conversation in a more convenient way. Throughout the conversation Carlisle just seemed to be reviewing what we learned the previous night, and Bella wasn't giving out any more information than what she told us so after a while I ignored it and just waited for them to come out. I smiled in amusement as Rosalie ran over to Bella with an odd bounce in her step, almost as though she was Alice rather than herself. She immediately started talking about the engine type and other parts of the car that I had no idea even existed. Bella smiled and answered all Rose's questions patiently. Rosalie finally seemed to run out of things to say and just stared at the car longingly.

"Hey Rosalie," Bella said, getting her attention. "Why don't you take it out for a drive?"

She tossed the keys in Rose's direction and Rosalie's eyes sparkled as she caught them. She muttered a quick, "Thank you!" Before getting into the car and pulling out.

Emmett let out a whistle. "You do realize she probably won't be back for a few hours?"

Bella laughed. "I figured."

"That was so sweet of you." Esme said. Bella just shrugged. There was a silence for a few seconds.

"So…" Jasper began, trying to break the silence. "Why did you have leave so early last night?"

Bella frowned slightly. "Be assured, it had nothing to do with your family."

"Oh?" Jasper's curiosity was obviously spiked, as was my own.

"Why, what did it have to do with?" I asked. My words didn't even make sense to myself but Bella must've understood what I was trying to get at. Her eyebrows pulled together.

"It was just some business that had to be taken care of."

It was obvious that she wasn't going to say anything more about it. Everyone seemed to shift uncomfortably. Bella's frown turned into a radiant smile, I assumed it was because we didn't ask anymore questions.

"Do the Volturi know of your existence?" Carlisle asked.

"Nope." Bella laughed and popped the 'p'. It was odd, at times Bella seemed so childlike, carefree, and innocent and at other times Bella seemed tired, knowing, and weary. I watched as her eyes wandered, her gaze landed on Jasper.

"Jasper?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes?" Jasper answered, looking curiously at her.

"Was your name Jasper Whitlock?" I immediately looked over at Jasper.

Jasper looked briefly surprised. "It was."

"Do you remember me?" Bella asked. Every one of us, including Jasper, was confused at this point. Jasper just looked at her stupidly. There was a flash of golden light and Bella's appearance changed. She had violet eyes but this time they seemed softer, lighter somehow although very much the same. Her hair was a golden wavy brown, it was pulled back in a bun and she was wearing an outdated outfit that consisted of a long pink skirt with a white button up shirt that was tucked in and a tan hat with a pink ribbon on it. She looked so similar yet different from the form she was in now.

"Its you," was all Jasper said. He just looked at her in astonishment. Bella smiled.

"It's me." Bella laughed.

Emmett cleared his throat. "Anyone else feeling completely lost?"

I raised my hand and Carlisle, Esme, and Alice did the same.

"I like to be at all the big battles in history, sometimes I have to go in disguise as a male but I was at the Civil War as a nurse. Coincidentally I was a nurse for Major Whitlock's unit and we ran into each other quite a few times given the fact that I was indirectly, if you may, working for him. Of course I worked for both sides, taking on different names each time, Jane Stuart Woolsey, being one." Bella explained. Everyone looked at her astonished. Her outfit changed into a black dress with a white apron and a nurse hat, her hair turning an auburn shade, her eyes green, and a pink blush spreading to her cheeks.

Carlisle exhaled and Bella changed back into her form where she was wearing a pink dress. "Wow."

"Katharine?" Jasper asked; he seemed out of breath.

A confident smile easily came onto her face and she seemed to exude a zesty air. "The one and only."

Jasper's eyes widened. "I think I'm going to do something that would be very inappropriate, for that time anyway"

"And what is that Major?" Bella asked a smile on her face. She was vivacious. Jasper came up and wrapped her into a hug.

"How much trouble have you gotten yourself into while I was gone?" He asked, his voice muffled as her hat got in the way.

"A lot and you know it!" Bella grinned. "We've got some catching up to do Major."

Alice stepped in. "You hadn't been… romantically involved, had you?"

Bella raised an eyebrow. "With him? Nope, he was like my brother."

Alice relaxed. Jasper tugged on Bella's shirt. "Come one, we have to talk. I want to know what you've been doing."

Bella waved to all of us and they walked out the door and I heard them breaking into a run as they were outside, Bella's skirts rustling with every step until I couldn't hear it.

~JPOV

I let out a breath as we were out of hearing range. I instantly felt guilty. Katharine's expression matched my emotions. "Sorry Major."

I rubbed my temples. "Its ok, I'm hoping you had the best intentions in mind when you said that."

"I did, really. It would've just made things worse if I told her the truth!" Katharine exclaimed. In truth Katharine and I had been romantically involved, I had even planned on proposing to her when the war was over. Knowing Alice though, she would've made a mountain out of a molehill if I told her and probably wouldn't let me see Katharine. She was as beautiful as I remembered her, perhaps more.

"How have things been going for you?" I asked curiously.

Katharine laughed. "Come on Jasper! You have to have something better to say than that! I've just saw you after years and that's what you come up with?"

A paused considering this and then nodded in agreement. "You know, it is kind of weird finding out that the person you loved is immortal too and actually has the power to seduce anyone she wants…"

Katharine shrugged. "Sorry?"

I laughed at her response as it brought back memories of her. Her personality was unlike any other woman. She was always full-of-life and witty. I remembered the countless times she disobeyed the rules which would've got her in trouble with anyone else but I would always fall victim to her charm and just tell her to listen to the rules next time before she'd break them again. It had been unusual during that time for a nurse to be a young maiden that possessed grace and beauty but with Katharine everything was different. She truly was an "angel of the battlefield" as we referred to them.

I looked down at her. "Was I just a game to you back then?"

"No Jasper!" She looked at me sadly. "I really did fall in love with you… It was unintended but it happened. I remembered you Jasper and all the time I was with you I never felt more human. I really enjoyed that time and I clung onto the memories even after you were gone."

I remembered how every day after I was changed I though about her, in order to not forget her. "But you must've loved lots of people."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes, I've loved other people too but really Jasper, what do you expect? I've been living for virtually forever; it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"But…" I said while stroking her cheek. "We're both immortal now."

She leaned in and I unconsciously did the same, before I knew it our lips touched. She immediately pulled away. "No Jasper, you're with Alice. I'm sorry but I can't do that to her."

I looked down at her horrified at what I'd done and horrified at the fact that I had completely forgotten about Alice and wanted to just finish what was started.

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**I've been meaning to write this for a while but haven't had the time to so apologies. How do you like the chapter? I never intended it to go in this direction but it just happened as I was writing it and I kind of like the way it turned out. What do you think... Jasper & Bella or Edward & Bella? Please review... I'm having difficulties deciding because I kind of liked the way Jasper was linked to her past. I'll try to update soon but I might not be able to for a while because I'm going to be especially busy because it Halloween soon :) (I'm so excited for it, I have big plans!). Anyway just tell me what you think.**

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	7. Decisions

~JPOV

Katharine's face was troubled as she thought over what just happened between us. I was practically bathing in guilt; I can't believe I did that to Alice. I love Alice… but I also had been in love with Katharine.

Katharine looked up. "Jasper?"

"Yes?" I asked anxiously.

"This never happened. I'm sorry Jasper but the romance between us is over. I love you Jasper but think about what you're doing to Alice. She put her trust in you, don't betray her like that."  
"But-" I was cut off.

"No, you don't love me anymore. You love Alice, with me it is just past tense. Sure once upon a time you did but that is history. It will never go back to the way it was and you know it. Besides, it's not like you really know me… who I was back then was someone completely different. I can't… It's wrong… It's…" Katharine trailed off in frustration; she couldn't seem to find the words to say whatever she meant to say next. Angrily she kicked a stone.

"I-" Once again Katharine decided to interrupt me.

"We're just going to be what I told Alice, good friends. That is the end of it. No point in trying to argue with me." She said. I was a bit stung by her words but I agreed with them to a degree. Unwillingly I nodded. Katharine's face smoothed out into a serene mask.

"So what's up?" she asked. We both exchanged a look and burst out laughing. I knew things were not completely better but fine for the moment.

"Tell me about Alice." She said. I looked at her, unsure for a moment but then I started.

"Well, she can see the future. Her favorite color is pink and she loves to shop… in that sense she is the stereotypical preppy teen girl. She is always full of energy and nothing can stop her. She is constantly on the move, never still. She always gets what she wants… I even gave her my grandmother's wedding ring, the one that I originally intended to give to you." I watched her face carefully as I said that; she didn't even bat an eyelash. Instead she steadily gazed at me from underneath her hat. "I really do love her… I'd do anything for her. She is such a central figure in everything… you can't miss her. When she is gone it's like she's taken the life with her."

Katharine just listened as I continued to ramble on about Alice. She smiled as I finally neared a stop. I knew that there was no choice in the first place… ultimately I was in love with Alice. Katharine had known that.

"You know, for someone who has lived forever I'm really stupid. I'm sorry for what I did. It was just that… this was the first time ever in my existence that I could have something that I could keep forever. I was blinded by the idea, it was like an automatic happily ever for me, an illusion if you will. Because you see Jasper, for me everything just comes and goes. There are no permanent fixtures in my life and to think that there would be was like an illusion. I got in over my head. I guess to say I had come to terms with your… death because I have to do that every single time. I've loved lots of people and I learn to get over them after they die. I'm sorry if it seems like I lied to you when I said I love you. I'm sorry that I didn't tell Alice the truth. I'm sorry for messing up." She finished her lengthy monologue with a sigh.

I rolled my eyes. "I messed up too; don't take all the blame on yourself. Besides you really are my best friend."

"I think," She began. "That we both knew it wouldn't work out in the end… I think it was destiny for it to turn out this way."

I nudged her. "That sounds like a line from those cheesy soap operas."

Katharine let out a laugh. "You watch soap operas?"

I didn't get the chance to defend myself because in a gold flash she was back to being in Bella form and she was off in the direction of the house, giggling as I tried to keep up.

~EPOV

Bella glided into the house, laughing. She was back in the form that I was used to her being in. Jasper followed seconds later.

"Wow Major, you seem a little out of shape."

"Out of shape?" Jasper asked annoyance clear in his tone. "You're too fast for even Edward to catch!"

I walked into the room at the same time Alice arrived. "Have fun?"

"Yup. By the way Alice I love the new shirt." Bella said. I looked over at Alice, surprised that Bella would've noticed. While Jasper and her were away Alice decided to go out shopping to keep her mind off of things.

Alice spoke her thanks and managed to engage Bella in a conversation about some new line of designer clothing. Bella's cell phone rang interrupting them. Bella flipped it open.

"Hello?"

Everyone in the house tuned their ears to the conversation. _"They're here."_

"Now?" A frown became evident on Bella's face.

"_Yes."_

Bella seemed to almost growl as she ended the call. "Gotta run kids. Bye."

She didn't wait to here our questions and she didn't even dwell over the fact that Rose still had her car; instead she took off at an impossible speed and was gone. Alice and I exchanged looks and in a flash everyone else, excluding Rosalie of course who was still out testing Bella's car, was down in the room with us.

Emmett was the first to talk. "What was that about?"

Alice, Jasper, and I simultaneously shrugged. Carlisle thoughtfully looked in the direction Bella left. "I think Bella didn't tell us everything."

"It is her right to keep a few things to herself!" Jasper defended. Alice patted him on the shoulder.

Esme sighed. "I know you feel the urge to stand up for her but I think it was something important."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "I'm just irritated she called us kids."

Everyone sighed at Emmett's comment. I responded, feeling annoyance break into my calm. "Seriously Emmett, is that all you're worried about?"

Emmett didn't say anything and then the faint sound of a car was heard and it slowly began to gain volume finally the sound was in our driveway and then abruptly the engine was cut off. We patiently listened as the keys jingled and Rosalie stepped into the house. Her eyes were bright with excitement and happiness. "Bella?"

"Bella's not here." Alice said. We quickly briefed her in on the situation. Rosalie stood there gaping for a few seconds before she composed her expression to the arrogant look that I was so used to. She strutted off after telling us Bella would show up sooner or later and that we had no right to 'stick our noses up in someone else's business.' And that we should just leave the matter alone. Jasper seemed to agree and Emmett walked off to follow his wife. After that it seemed that nothing else would be found out about the matter so everyone seemed to go off in different directions, really waiting for Bella's arrival to see what it was all about.  
It wasn't until four hours later that Bella arrived. There was a knock at the door and within seconds everyone was in the entrance hall. Carlisle opened the door to a cheery looking Bella. It seemed as though nothing could dampen her mood. I carefully inspected her face and noticed she seemed tenser then before but it was so well hidden I wasn't sure whether or not I was imagining things. I briefly wondered if anyone else saw what I saw and scanned their thoughts but no one seemed to take notice.

"Sorry for having to leave so early and without a proper goodbye. It was so rude of me." She said casting us an alluring smile. Jasper seemed to be sizing up the situation before nodding to himself, in his head he was agreeing that Carlisle was right about her hiding something from us but he still didn't think we needed to pry into her business. Carlisle however was not to be deterred.

"I'm sorry if this comes out sounding rude but why, may I ask, did you leave?" Carlisle questioned sounding both apologetic but polite.

"Oh just to do this and that." Bella said breezily, dismissing it with a wave of her hand. It was apparent that she wasn't going to share anymore information so Carlisle just nodded seemingly resigned.

"Oh by the way Bella, the car is great!" Rosalie exclaimed, effectively changing the atmosphere of the room. Bella's eyes twinkled.

"I'm glad you liked it. It is one of my favorite cars." She said.

"Cars?" Rosalie inquired.

"I have more than one car." Bella explained. Rosalie's thoughts went into overdrive and she was beaming.

"Can I see them sometime?"

Bella smiled. "Of course… maybe we could work on one together sometime."

"That would be amazing." Rosalie squealed. I stifled a laugh; I hadn't seen Rosalie so excited in a long time.

"Bella," I said anxiously, nervous to what I was about to do. "Would you follow me?"

Bella raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she inclined her head, beckoning for me to lead the way. Everyone else curiously looked at me but I shook my head subtly although I didn't doubt that Bella picked up on it. Bella and I walked in silence for a while and then I finally came to a stop at the meadow I always come to. I waited for her to make a comment of some sorts. She didn't. We just sat in silence for a while before I realized I was the one who asked for her to follow me.

"I think you're lying to us." I said as I watched her face carefully. Her expression didn't change.

"And what would I be lying about?"

I paused and reconsidering how I put it. "Not lying… just holding out on us."

She sat down and took off her pumps, lightly dipping her toes in the stream. She wrapped her arms around her knees. At that moment my heart went out to her. She looked so lonely, so used to it. There wasn't a word to describe exactly what I felt or what it was like watching her. To be alone for so long, I felt a pity of sorts. I moved closer and hesitantly sat next to her. She didn't move instead she wearily looked at the water.

"You're right." She said after a moment's silence. I didn't say anything afterwards; I was at a loss of words. I hadn't expected her to admit it so easily.

"I kissed Jasper. We used to be in love." Bella randomly stated. I gaped.

"But-" I was cut off.

"I didn't mean to lie to Alice. I thought nothing would happen between us. I was in over my head when I thought something from my past survived so I wasn't thinking clearly. But Jasper and I weren't meant to work out in the end… he belongs with Alice. Besides he is more like my best friend anyway." Bella said. I was quiet as I watched her. Her features suddenly seemed lighter. I decided that I wasn't going to judge her. It made sense. I ignored the strange feeling that seemed to jolt through me as she mentioned Jasper and her... It was obvious that she needed a friend right now, not another suitor.

"Doesn't it hurt? Doesn't it hurt to watch someone you loved love someone else?" I asked curiously. Bella let out a sharp breath.

"I suppose, but I've become so accustomed to pain. Either way I decided it should be this way, its all for the better anyway. It's not like I would've been able to love Jasper like I should've."

I looked at her feeling sympathetic. I don't know why she decided to share this piece of information with me but I was glad she did. I tried to imagine having the guilt constantly tormenting you about what you did, it pained me just thinking about it.

"You know, living forever really changes your view on things." She commented.

I smiled wryly. "I guess it does."

And for a moment I saw some indescribable, enormous amount of pain flash across her eyes.

"I don't think you need to be worried about why I left earlier today." I looked up startled, I had forgotten the reason we came out here in the first place. Bella just stared at the stream for a little while longer. Her eyes seemed to glisten a little bit and she quickly blinked. I realized tears were in her eyes. I didn't know what memory of hers caused the pain and tears but at the moment she looked so human. I place my hand on top of hers comfortingly. She didn't acknowledge my gesture at first but after a while I felt her finger slide through mine.

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**Due to the popular vote the pairing will most likely be Edward/Bella. In this chapter I meant for Bella to show a slightly more vulnerable side... I hope I was able to do it well enough. I'm proud that I got a chapter up before Halloween :) I probably won't be able to get another one up that soon but who knows. Please review!**


	8. Society

Bella was waiting for everyone to finish getting ready outside. We had all decided that we would go out, possibly to Olympia or Seattle, and stay there for a few days. I straightened my tie before walking down the stairs to join Bella, Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper (who were already waiting). Bella looked stunning. She was in a different form tonight and she had hazel eyes and brown hair that was pinned up in a bun with a few strands hanging loose. She was wearing a scarlet dress, which slightly trailed behind her, with a slit on one leg's side that almost went all the way to her hip. Bella's lips were a blood red and she wore a simple ruby choker around her neck that was very visible due to the plunging neck line on her gown. Alice, Rosalie, and Esme finally came down; effectively stopping my ogling.

We all went outside and momentarily stopped, taking in the car Bella bought. It sleek and shiny and probably cost more than some people's houses. Rosalie just stood there, a look of complete awe on her face.

"That is the newest model of the Bugatti Veyron." Rose breathed out after a few seconds. Bella nodded with a satisfied smile on her face.

"It goes up to 253 mph and can accelerate from 0-60 in only 2.6 seconds. It's the most expensive car out there."

Bella's smile became more pronounced and turned into a smirk. "I know."

"So I'm guessing that some people are going to go in your car?" Emmett asked. Bella confirmed by giving a simple nod of her head.

"Who gets to ride with you?" Alice asked.

Bella began to grin widely as she got into the driver's seat. "Fight for it."

I immediately raced over to the passenger seat but Rosalie pushed me out of the way and got to it first. I quickly tried to get into the back seats but then saw Emmett and Jasper had gotten there already and because of Emmett's massive frame he took up almost one and a half seats. Alice could've fit in but she decided she would be uncomfortable so she stayed out. Bella smiled at us and gave us a wave of her hand.

I scowled at Rosalie when she stuck her tongue out at me. I got the keys for the Vanquish and then pulled out of the garage, waiting for the remaining people to get in. Alice was annoyed at the fact that she didn't get in and was already planning on how to get in on the ride back. Esme and Carlisle's thoughts revealed that even they were curious of what it would be like to ride in the car, although they hadn't even tried to get a seat. I listened as Bella's keys jingled and her car purred to life.

Emmett opened his window when I pulled up right beside them. It wasn't necessary for him to do so but he seemed to want to test out the car's features. _Damn, even the windows are cool._

I rolled down my window as well, for the sake of it. Emmett simply said, "Seattle."

I nodded and we both rolled up our windows. Bella's engine hummed and she started to drive. I followed behind her. Bella began to accelerate and pretty soon she was driving at top speed. I did the same, although I was slower. Soon we hit the windy section of the roads and Bella expertly maneuvered through them. During the entire ride I was listening to the conversation going on in Bella's car and it was filled with compliments to her ride. Apparently Bella had also had some extra features added but I had no idea what they were.

I sighed in relief as we made it to Seattle. I wasn't sure how much more I could listen to. It seemed Bella was aiming for dramatic as she pulled up into the main entrance of The Ritz Carlton. Earlier she had decreased in speed, because we were now on main roads but she suddenly increased as she got to the hotel and expertly pulled in, like they did in the James Bond movies. I let out a laugh at the comparison that came to my mind. The valets just stared, seemingly speechless at the gorgeous car. Bella opened her door and her long leg that was revealed by the slit in her dress came into view as she slowly stepped out. I'm pretty sure I heard some people hyperventilating; I didn't blame them. An amused smirk spread onto Bella's face and she approached the nearest employee. He was probably about 21 and he would be considered good-looking. I smiled as I watched, waiting in anticipation.

"Hello." Bella greeted sweetly.

The poor man looked ready to faint. "H-h-hello."

Bella flashed a dazzling smile. "Would you mind get me a cart to put our bags in?"

"N-no Miss. would you like a valet as well?" He stuttered.

"Of course, thank you," Bella paused and looked at his name tag. "Ryan."

He just gave her a shaky smile, not seeming to be able to do anything more. Quickly he scurried off to go do as she requested as she stood there. Everyone else got out of the Veyron and joined her. Admittedly they would probably look intimidating to others. Our entrance went unnoticed as everyone gawked openly at them. Esme, Carlisle, Alice, and I walked over to them.

Bella seemed to tower over majority of the females at her height of 5'9 and by their thoughts; every woman was taking a hit on their self-esteem. Ryan came back up to Bella, a luggage cart in hand and gestured for the other employees to unload the two trunks.

"This way and you'll be checked in." Ryan said and led us into the lobby. Bella gracefully glided in front, seeming to lead us. She went up to the front desk and left us standing near the couches.

"Hello what can I do for you today?" A confident voice asked from up front. I looked up to see a man in his late twenties smiling cockily at Bella.

"I'd like to check in." Bella said. As she gave all the information necessary (we had reservations at the Ritz Carlton here and the one in Olympia as well for whichever we decided to go to) the man began to flirt with Bella. At first she seemed to handle it calmly but after he made a particularly crude remark irritation began to leak through her demeanor. She quickly snuck a glance that clearly said save me to us. Emmett walked forward and slipped his arm around her waist. Even to me, they looked stunning and terrifying. Emmett with his burly figure, dressed sharply in a black tux; And of course Bella, looking statuesque and wealthy in her red dress. The man at the desk shut up immediately and handed over the room keys. The two of them walked back over to us.

"Thank you." Bella whispered, her voice saturated with gratitude. Emmett let out a chuckle.

"No problem." They finally joined us again and Bella handed out everyone's room keys.

"Thanks, Rose, for letting me borrow your husband." Bella said.

Rosalie smiled, "You're welcome."

We went over to the elevator and got in, hitting the top buttons. The workers with our luggage cart followed us. We arrived and quickly agreed on temporarily putting everything in one room. We stepped into the Imperial Suite and had everything unloaded before tipping the employee. After he left Emmett let go of Bella's waist and she casually grabbed one of the bags. Once she got out a clutch purse she said. "Let's go."

We got the valet to get our cars again and each got in subsequent to us settling the matter that we would be going first to a ball that Carlisle had been invited to and then going to wherever our choice of place will be.

I was happier the ride was shorter this time; I didn't want to listen to the others in Bella's car for as long as last time. We parked in the guest space of another hotel and were led to the ballroom. It looked amazing. Rosalie and Emmett immediately ended up dancing and after a while Alice and Jasper did too. Carlisle and Esme ended up talking to some people Carlisle knew and suddenly it was just Bella and I. I awkwardly shuffled by the food table although I knew I wasn't going to have anything.

Bella picked up a champagne glass and took a sip. I looked at her incredulously. "You're drinking."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Edward, technically I'm older than everyone here."

I huffed and when Bella's lips twitched I knew she was just messing with me. "Yes, I can drink and eat. It doesn't bother me but it doesn't satisfy my hunger in any way."

"Ok." I said as I took in this new piece of information and stored it away for future use. There was a silence between us for a few seconds and then I noticed a boy nearby eying Bella. He approached us.

"Hello beautiful." He said in what I thought was a rather high pitched voice. It was obvious the only reason he was here was because his parents.

Bella looked over him once, in a way that, I noticed, was meant to be very degrading. It worked its trick because the child seemed to loose some of his previous confidence; especially when Bella took on a slightly snobby, bored tone. "Hi."

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to… you know. Dance? Maybe later we could uh… get a hotel room?" He looked nervous through out his entire little speech and he had a reason to, Bella was staring at him with a look that questioned his sanity; her eyebrows were raised and she looked as though she was going to laugh at the thought of doing anything with him.

"No." She simply responded but it was clear she wasn't going to venture further into the subject. The boy walked away seeming like a puppy that didn't get dog treats.

I let out a laugh. "My compliments to your admirable acting skills."

Bella flashed me a brilliant smile. "Why thank you."

I cleared my throat awkwardly. Bella looked at me expectantly with an amused grin on her face. "Yes?"

"Well… would you like to dance with me?" I finished my sentence and just stared at the glass in her hand, waiting for her harsh rejection. It surprised me when she set down the champagne glass and took my hand.

"Just as long as you don't ask me to a hotel room… although I might've taken up that offer." Bella winked at me and I felt like a hormonal teenage boy. Embarrassment flared up inside me as I realized that not only could she feel those emotions but she probably was just joking with me.

I quickly fumbled for another subject to talk about. "So what's your favorite color?"

"Red." Came Bella's short reply. Her eyes were filled with mirth as she watched me.

"Cool mine is green." I realized how ridiculous I sounded after I said that because I ended stuttering, some thing I hadn't years. Bella cocked her head to a side and looked plenty entertained. Suddenly a question came to my mind.

"Why were you upset the other day?" I asked. We hadn't about the day in the meadows afterwards but I had understood that it wasn't something that she wanted to show me and didn't take her silence offensively.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked me, her eyes pleading.

I picked up thoughts of our conversation from my siblings and realized that they were listening in too. "I didn't mean to say upset, forgive me; I meant to ask what made you laugh so hard; people's thoughts mixing up my own."

Bella looked relieved and she gave my hand a squeeze.

* * *

**I've been extremely busy lately and haven't gotten the chance to actually type this or post this up so apologies about the wait. This chapter was a bit random but I felt I owed you guys something so here it is. I'm not that sure about this chapter but just tell me what you think of it... And here is a few things that have happened to me since I last updated.**

**1) Party after party after party.**

**2) A cow licked my hand.**

**3) I named the most adorable little bunny ever after the Dark Lord.**

**4) I saw Taylor Lautner... shirtless and wet. It was kind of amazing.**

**5) My friends and I dressed up insanely (including fake hair dye and mismatching clothes) and went to the mall. We managed to keep away all those people who work in those booths and are so annoying as they come up to you and ask to straighten your hair or do your nails etc. I felt extremely accomplished.**


	9. Others

I continued to twirl Bella around the dance floor, keeping up an idle chat. Finally Carlisle's thoughts announced that we could finally leave, I was quick to inform everyone else and we rushed out of the ball room; eager to get started on our own activities. As we reached the cars I huffed in annoyance as Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper were standing by the Bugatti again. Emmett saw and shot me a smug smile.

"Where are we going to head to?" I asked.

Bella bit her lip and it took me a few seconds to tear my eyes away from her lips. Rosalie caught me and winked. _I won't tell._

"There is a premiere going on…. It's only about 2 minutes away from here." Bella suggested. Everyone looked at each other for conformation and pretty soon we were on our way to the premiere, Bella's car leading my own.

We arrived in 2 minutes, just as Bella had predicted. I looked at the place, surprised about how packed it was before parking the car next to Bella's and getting out. The crowd seemed to part for us as we walked over to the theatre's entrance. We were only stopped a few times by some people who obviously knew Bella and during that span of time they talked she would introduce us one by one before continuing a small conversation and later, politely excusing herself. After an hour or two of this we ended up seated on the burgundy cushion seats of the theatre.

* * *

While, we hadn't had any time to talk because we were watching the movie I found the movie itself truly spectacular and even Emmett was quiet at the end. Bella smiled as she noticed this and led us out of the room, to the cars, and after that to the hotel. We all settled in the Imperial Suite, where all our bags were.

"Well that was nice." Esme commented. Carlisle nodded and then a slightly awkward silence settled.

"So…" Emmett began. "What are we going to do for the rest of the night?"

Alice shrugged. Bella laughed. "We'll think of something… I'll just change first, if you don't mind."

Bella briefly left the room and when she came back she was wearing comfortable looking sweat pants and tank top, her hair was no longer in the perfect bun but in a slightly sloppy ponytail and her make-up was removed, although her skin was still perfectly unblemished even without it. We all ended up getting into more comfortable clothing after that before sitting on the couch.

Rosalie looked at Bella. "Just out of curiosity… Do you need to sleep?"

"Need to… not necessarily. But I can sleep if I want to although I tend to avoid it." Bella answered.

"Why would you avoid the chance to sleep?" Carlisle asked.

Esme sighed. "Sleeping again would be lovely."

Bella winced. "When you see the stuff I've seen the dreams don't turn out to be pleasant…"

Jasper lightly pat her arm. "I can only imagine."

"Well, I think I'm going to head over to my room; Rosie, you coming?" Emmett announced. I shuddered at the images going through his head and everyone tried to contain there laughter as Rosalie nodded and left, going only to the suite next door to the one we were currently in. Slowly, the others ended up going to their suites as well until it was only Bella and I left, sitting on the couch cross legged as we talked. I ended up telling her about the Denali clan and how they were considered family to us when an idea occurred to me.

"Why don't I invite them? They would easily be able to make it here tomorrow and you could meet them?"

Bella smiled warmly at me as she tucked loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "Sure."

Excited with my plan I took out my phone and dialed their number.

"_Hello?"_

"Hello Eleazar, its Edward."

"_Oh! And to what is the pleasure of this call?"_

"Well, I was thinking that maybe tomorrow you could bring everyone down to Seattle, we're currently staying at the Ritz Carlton, and that we could introduce you to someone."

"_I suppose we could make it down there. In fact I'm sure we could start heading down now."_

"Alright then, I'll see you shortly. Good bye."

"_Bye."_

I was actually surprised that they were able to come down on such a short notice but pleased that my idea would go through. I felt ridiculously happy that Bella would meet the family.

Bella let out a laugh. "Calm down Edward."

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry I couldn't help it… it's just that if someone else meets you you'll seem more real."

"So I'm fake?" Bella asked with an eyebrow raised, her lips twitching as she tried to contain the smile that was threatening to break out.

"No… It is just that if someone other than me sees you I won't feel like I'm the only one who knows what you are."

"But your family knows what I am." Bella pointed out reasonably. My eyebrows pulled together.

"I know that… but with my family it is almost as thought we're one person... well not one person but we do everything together so if one of us imagines something the others will as well… do you get what I'm trying to say?"

Bella nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."

I looked at her curiously but didn't question her and instead continued to talk about unimportant things until a call came from the front desk requesting if we were expecting anyone. I had lost track of time so much so that I hadn't even realized that humans had started their daily activities already. I hastily told them to send them in before changing quickly and telling the rest of the family to do so after I alerted them of the plan. Bella came out of her bedroom wearing a long cashmere sweater dress with her hair in a ponytail. We were all ready by the time the Denali coven knocked on the door. They greeted each of us warmly before stopping before Bella.  
"And who do we have here?" Carmen asked.

"This is-" I was about to introduce Bella but I was cut off.

"Bella, I'm Bella."

They greeted her politely but all of their minds were frantic, trying to understand why we would have a human with us. Bella looked lightly amused as she watched Kate shoot a glance at Carlisle.

"Carlisle, may I talk to you?" Eleazar asked.

"I probably should've warned you beforehand." Carlisle began.

Tanya lowered her voice so that only we could hear… or so she thought. "Why do you have a human here?"

Bella let out a little laugh. "Don't worry, I'm not."

The Denali's turned their heads towards her in surprise and we gave them a quick version of what she was. They stared at her in awe for a few minutes before reintroducing themselves.

We all went down to the lobby and ended up seated on the sofas there. Tanya quickly squished herself next to me while Bella sat with Kate across everyone. We started with a friendly chatter and then Tanya slipped her arm around me while trying to get my undivided attention. She never made it a secret that she liked me. Curiously I took a peek at Bella, trying to judge her reaction after Tanya kissed my cheek. Her expression was lightly amused as she watched just as everyone else's. I was a bit disappointed… I had almost hoped for Bella to have a reaction of sorts. My eyes widened at that… Did I want Bella jealous?

* * *

**I'm sorry I haven't posted anything recently except someone really close to me died and I've been extremely depressed about it. I'm sorry if this chapter was a disapointment, I had gotten back from the funeral and I was just trying to get something to get my mind off the death when I decided to make another chapter, it was really hard and I really didn't bother with any grammer mistakes because I just couldn't bring myself to do that, so once again apoligies. **


	10. Surprises

I was somewhat disturbed by the thought that had struck my mind, it was just foreign to me. I watched intently as Bella let out a breezy laugh at something Eleazar said. Tanya tugged my arm, trying to get my attention; I turned to her.

"Edward, your family haven't gotten any extra attention from the Volturi recently, have they?" She asked her brows furrowed. I frowned at the question.

"No, not that I'm aware of; why would you ask?"

Tanya shook her head. "I was just wondering, due to the fact that Bella is among you. I assume the Volturi wouldn't want another added to your coven; especially one as special as Bella."

Everyone was now looking at us. Bella looked weary. "The Volturi do not know of my existence."

This caused the Denali coven's interest to spike. Ours as well, even though we already knew about that we never were given many details. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how little we really knew about Bella. She always had a way of closing the conversation or distracting you before you could ask too many questions.

Irena studied Bella's face suspiciously. "And how is that?"

Bella just offered a radiant smile. "I have my ways."

I could tell that the Denali coven didn't like the vague answer she gave them. Admittedly even I was getting agitated by the way Bella always held out on us.

"Care to explain further?" Tanya said.

Bella stayed silent for a moment, leisurely sipping the coffee she had somehow gotten hold of during the conversation. "I know they're out there and would consider me as a… threat. So I purposely avoid crossing paths with them."

A smile threatened to break out on her face as she seemed to be enjoying some private joke. Tanya nodded, satisfied with the answer. I was briefly curious as to whether or not Aro would be able to read Bella's mind or not. And then there was also the factor that we didn't really know the full extent of Bella's powers; would they be enough to take the Volturi down? I was lost in my own thoughts as we got into the cars. I ground my teeth over the fact that I still didn't get into the Bugatti. The tense atmosphere was completely gone and it was obvious that Bella had charmed the entire Alaskan coven. Even Irena, who was normally a very private person, had linked her arms with Bella's and was chatting with her as though they knew each other for years. I was pleased when Tanya decided to give me a break and went to talk with Bella.

We stopped at the nearby mall, due to Alice's constant pleading. All the girls linked arms and were stopping at a few shops. Emmett, Jasper, and I ended up pointlessly following them while Esme, Carlisle, Eleazar, and Carmen were just talking while sitting down at the tables and chairs that were near the food court.

We were currently in a shop and Alice and Rosalie were giving clothes for Tanya, Irena, Kate, and Bella to try on. They three came out of the dressing room, all sporting different dresses when a cell phone rang. I wasn't surprised when Bella held up a finger to us and grabbed her cell phone; people always seemed to call Bella and interrupt something, important or not. I didn't listen to the conversation, instead I looked at the decorations of the store, so I was surprised when I saw Bella's jaw clench as she hastily stuffed the cell in her bag and quickly changed clothes. The three sisters promptly followed Bella's lead and changed back to their normal clothing as well. Emmett and Jasper's interest spiked as Bella hurriedly rushed out of the store with out a word. We were about to pass the adults when Esme stopped us.

"Where are you going?"

All our eyes went to Bella due to the fact that we actually didn't have a clue. "They were just coming to sit with you guys while I quickly go and pick something up."

Kate, Irena, and Tanya looked at each other before sitting down. Rose, Alice, Jasper, Emmett and I stayed standing, not giving in so easily.

"Well why don't you take them with you?" Eleazar suggested. Bella kept a perfectly serene expression and nodded before sending an apologetic look to the three sisters, as there was no room for them. They didn't seem to notice because they were about as bewildered as my siblings and myself. Bella walked quickly our the main entrance, her facial features becoming tense again as soon as she was out of view of the others.

"What's going on?" Rosalie demanded. Bella didn't spare a second to answer she made her way over to her car and we quickly had to work out a way to fit all of us in there. Emmett ended up sitting shotgun while Alice sat on Jasper's lap next to Rosalie and I. As soon as we shut the door Bella backed out of the parking spot her tires squealing as she made a sharp turn. I barely took a glance at the car, although under different circumstances I would've been thrilled to ride in the car that I'd heard so much about.

We pulled up onto the highway and Bella increased in speed, her speedometer slowly inching past 100 mph. We weren't prepared for the gold flash that briefly filled the car as Bella changed form. She now had blond waves cascading down her back, and athletic looking body that was perfectly tanned, and mesmerizing blue eyes. Basically, she looked like the stereotypical Californian. I was as to why she changed form but we all kept quiet. Bella swerved of the road into a small path at the side.

Her voice was tight when she finally spoke. "You guys are going to stay in the car while I'm gone and you will not stay a word. Do you understand?"

She waited for each one of us to nod before she looked at the road again. We ventured further and further down the path and then a smell hit my nose. My eyes widened. "Werewolves?!"  
Emmett looked at Bella accusingly. "What are you doing with company like them?"

"We're almost there. Be quiet they might hear you." Her tone made it clear that the conversation was over. I pressed my lips together, ignoring the millions of questions that were itching to be spoken.

Bella slowed down in front of a beat down house and carefully composed a smile on her lips. She gave us all a hard look before getting out of the car. I watched as she yanked open the door revealing a tall man, probably taller than Emmett, whose skin was a russet color. His hair was cut short and he was wearing cut off jeans and nothing else. Bella angled herself in front of the door so that she blocked his view of the car.

"Elizabeth," the man at the door greeted warmly.

Bella's eyes sparkled as she hugged him. "Shane."

I saw Shane try to get a look at the car but Bella, or Elizabeth, skillfully shifted blocking his view while ushering him into the little shack. The movement was so subtle that I barely caught it.

Inside I heard Bella greeting some more people, some of which called her "Liz". A serious mood seemed to settle as someone mentioned something about a recent sighting. I had no idea what they were talking about but the tone in Bella's voice made me nervous. There was a few seconds silence and I impatiently waited for them to continue. Then I heard the sound of a pen scratching on paper. Abruptly a chair was pulled back as someone stood up.

"We'll be able to do it." A voice said. They sounded young and determined. I figured Bella nodded at that point because I then heard the clacking of her heels as she walked out. Before any of the werewolves came out she quickly got into the car and turned on the ignition. She went down another path that I hadn't noticed and as soon as we were out of their view she stepped on the gas. Emmett looked ready to speak but Bella put her finger to her lips. She waited a few seconds before letting out a breath.

"Go ahead, you can talk now."

We all looked at her. Jasper spoke up. "Who are those people?"

"They're werewolves that are currently helping me with something."

Rosalie arched an eyebrow. "The matter that was being discussed seemed pretty serious."

Bella ran her hand through her hair and I could tell she was reluctant to address the subject.

"It is about a…person I know who saw something they weren't supposed to see and wants to do something about it that would basically put everyone who has had any association with me in danger."

A silence settled over the car. Emmett let his shoulders fall. "Oh."

Alice looked somewhat upset. "Is there anything we need to do about it? Because if there is I probably wouldn't even be able to see anything because it involves you."

"No, you guys don't need to do anything. The matter will be settles very shortly. Don't worry, it is under control." An amused smile formed on Bella's face.

Everyone seemed to relax and then Bella bit her lip, she seemed to hesitate. "But, just for… safety precautions we're probably going to have to cut our little 'vacation' short."

I shrugged. "I figured that much."

Bella stared straight ahead and didn't say anything. I studied her face intently. "There is more to it, isn't there?"

"Well… if this person does somehow get lucky enough to get an amount of information out to someone who they hold at high respects then you guys are in trouble because this person happens to know you and so you guys might just have to spend a few days at my house to make sure things don't go wrong."

"I thought you said you had it under control." Jasper said.

Bella looked at him through the rearview mirror and gave him a sharp look. "I do, but how do you think I've gotten around all these years; I'm extra cautious. Especially because these people that might be told are the Volturi and that wouldn't end good for any of us."

Alice's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Bella let out a laugh. "It really doesn't matter. The chances of this person getting to the Volturi are one in a million and even then, the chances of the Volturi finding any of you guys afterwards would be impossible because you would be at my house. It's not me I'm worried about, what I'm worried about it showing you guys my place."

The confidence in her voice seemed to soothe all of our worries. I wondered what Bella's house looked like. We'd never seen it. "What's so special about us going to your house?"

"You'll see when we go there." Bella smiled.

Alice looked confused. "But how will going to your house make it impossible for them to find us?"

Bella didn't say anything, instead she grinned. A flash of golden light filled the car and she was back in her form with hazel eyes and brown hair. I was pleased by the way her mood had lifted considerably.

"Are we going to leave as soon as we get back to the others?" Jasper questioned.

"Yup," Bella answered, popping the p. We pulled into a parking space near the main entrance of the mall. We were only gone for a grand total of 20 minutes, due to Bella's crazy driving. The entire ride the speedometer never went below the hundreds. Not that I was complaining or anything.

As we stepped into the mall we immediately spotted everyone and walked over to them.

"So sorry I kept all of you guys waiting but I had to pick something up but afterwards figured out that I had forgotten to take care of something back in Forks, which I first needed to do before I picked the item up, and so I'm going to have to cut this lovely get together short. It was great meeting all of you and I hope to see you soon." Bella said as we stopped in front of them. She left no time for anyone to question it and they seemed to swallow the excuse anyway. There was a chorus of goodbyes and Bella hugged all the members of the Denali coven before waving at them as the left.

We quickly headed to our own cars and on the way Bella explained the situation with Carlisle and Esme. They seemed to trust her judgment and agreed to go and stay at her house for a while. We got into the cars. I felt childishly excited because I got to sit in Bella's car, this time without some mysterious situation going on. I had all but sprinted, human speed of course, to the passenger seat. Alice had argued with Jasper until he finally gave up his seat for her. I caught Bella shooting Jasper a smug smile.

"Oh stop it." Jasper mumbled lamely.

Bella let out a laugh. "Stop what, Major?"

Jasper shook his head and just got into the Volvo with Rosalie and Emmett, Esme and Carlisle joined us in the Bugatti. Under normal circumstances I would never let anyone touch my Volvo but I decided I could just this once. I tossed Rosalie the keys and she stuck them in the ignition. Bella backed out and then waited a few seconds for Rosalie to do the same. Once we got onto the freeway Bella started to speed up.

I looked at the inside of the car and admired the leather seats. I looked at the window and it startled me as they seemed to be getting darker.

"Your windows are suddenly way darker!" I exclaimed.

Bella smiled from the front. "I know, I installed a special feature were I can control the tint of the window. I figured it would be necessary to darken the windows due to the fact that the sun is coming out from the clouds right now."

I looked in awe at the windows. Then I turned my attention to the dashboard, eager to see if there were any other cool features. Too my disappointment there wasn't but even without being customized the car was amazing. We kept up a pleasant conversation throughout the car ride and before I knew it we were parked in front of our house.

"I thought we were going to your house." I said. Alice rolled her eyes.

"We need to pack some clothes."

It then dawned on me that we had left all of our items in Seattle. Bella had convinced us that she could go back and get them without us. I felt a bit stupid afterwards.

We got inside the house and immediately everyone began to pack. It ended up getting dark by the time we were finished because Alice insisted that we pack a lot of things, because we didn't know how long we were staying and then all of us went on a quick hunt. Finally once we got everything loaded into the cars we were off. Bella in the lead as she took us down a dark narrow path through the trees. Bella finally began to slow down and then came to a full halt. I didn't have to be Jasper to feel everyone's confusion; there was nothing there.

"And welcome to le château perdit." Bella said, with a flourish of her hand.

Emmett looked at Bella like she was crazy. "Umm, sorry to burst your bubble but there isn't anything there."

Bella let out a laugh. "Look again."

And then the air around us seemed to ripple and for a second, the stars glow brighter. Suddenly an enormous castle was in front of us. All of our mouths dropped at the sight. Ivy wrapped around some places giving it an almost fairytale look. The grey stones looked old and almost glowing as the moon's beams shone upon it.

"Le château perdit," Carlisle breathed, "The Lost Castle."

Bella smiled. "Although, no one other than us know of its existence."

* * *

**Ok so what did you think? I promise to get more chapters out once winter break starts (I have been really busy for the last few weeks and will be this week because of finals) because hopefully then I'll have some time on my hands. Anyway, some reviews would be nice :) I hope this chapter was good. I was having major writers block that only started to clear up once I got to the very very end of the chapter. So unti next time, Au Revior! **

***Le chateau perdit is French. (and as Carlisle obviously stated, it means The Lost Castle)**


	11. Bonds

We walked into the castle, suitcases in hand, and were amazed at what we saw. The main entrance had a ceiling higher than a cathedral's and there were two staircases, one both sides of the room, that led up to one of the upper levels. The banisters were mahogany and had an elegant look to it. The stairs itself had a richly colored red carpet covering the gleaming stone that was also on the floor of the room itself as well. A giant chandelier hung from the ceiling. I was guessing there used to be a different type of chandelier in the first place but this one was still majestic. Doors were on both sides of the room as well that also matched the handrail to the stairs. Underneath the staircase was a long hall that led to some unknown place.

"Wow." Esme breathed. I smiled; Esme had always been interested in architecture and home design so this was a treat for her.

"Well come on, I'll give all of you a short tour of the house." Bella said softly. Everyone nodded, eager to see more of the castle. We followed Bella as she walked to the door on the right side of the grand hall and opened it. My mouth hung open. We were in a spacious room and on one side the wall had a huge, and I mean huge, window that showed the forest. We seemed to be higher up than in the grand hall because the ground was several feet below not that high though, 8 feet at the most. Rain drops fell on the window, making everything outside just a green blur. The window was covered as Bella let a ruby colored velvet curtain cover the view. I turned and looked at the rest of the room. There was an enormous fireplace on another wall, a warm fire crackling in the hearth. I briefly wondered how the fire was lit; surely Bella didn't keep it on while we were in Seattle… A large painting caught my eye and I was slightly surprised. It wasn't by a famous artist such as the ones in the hallway and it wasn't exquisite (while it was nice it just wasn't like the paintings in the hall). I was confused as I realized there wasn't even a signature on it. My confusion vanished as Bella picked up a remote and clicked it. The painting part slid away and instead a TV appeared between the frame. Emmett settled onto the ornate red couch, ready to watch the football game that was currently airing. I noticed bookshelves pushed against the back wall, instead of having books in them they had strange items that seemed to be souvenirs from travels. I almost laughed as I watched Esme run her hands lovingly on the Persian rug that decorated the floor.

"This is one of the living rooms and through that corridor," Bella pointed, "Is another, the other door there leads to a hall way that has doors to family rooms, studies, etc."

Once Bella managed to get Emmett off the couch she led us up a spiraling staircase in the corner of the room. We climbed higher and higher and I briefly wondered how far above the ground we were now. Finally we came to a stop and Bella opened a door revealing a room. I assumed we were inside a tower because of the shape and the view. The room was round and there were bookshelves pushed against the wall, all crammed with books. A little table was by the window, overflowed with books as well, next to a comfortable looking arm chair that gave you a view of the forest, we were so high that you could see above some of the short trees. Bella gave us a quick explanation and led us out showing us through halls and taking us to different wings of the castle pointing out multiple rooms such as the library, the kitchen etc. I was happy I had a vampire's photographic memory; otherwise I would've been hopelessly confused.

Finally we were each led to different bedrooms. Mine being a spacious room with a window overlooking the woods, a bunch of books stuffed in a bookcase that was against the back wall. A circular bed was in the middle of the room and even though I didn't need to sleep, it looked inviting. I grinned as I noticed a piano in the left corner of the room. I was sure Bella didn't place me here by accident as I studied the items on the nightstand Bella looked ready to leave but then she paused.

"By the way, I've already told the rest of your family this but I'm not sure you were listening," She gave me pointed look and I smiled sheepishly, I'd been zoning out a lot recently and it might've had to do with some fantasies about Bella… "But if you ever need me just ask for Bella."

She then left, so I was standing alone in the bedroom that was now mine, feeling utterly confused. I had no idea what she meant by her instructions. I shrugged it off and went to the piano. It was gorgeous, a white grand piano that was designed with an intricate pattern on the legs of it; I would've barely noticed if not for my vampire sight. I sat down on the bench in front of it and let my fingers glide over the keys. Pretty soon I was playing Esme's favorite song. Suddenly I stopped and started trying out a different melody that had just come to me as I was picturing Bella's face. I tried out different tunes until I finally got the right one. I thought for a second and gently pressed some other keys. I closed my eyes and played what I had gotten down before my hands seemed to take control of them selves and continue on with the song, while all the time I was thinking about Bella. I hit the last key and the sound seemed to resound in the air. I felt a weird tingle in my spine as I stood up. I was going to play the song for Bella. I didn't want to think about it too much otherwise I would probably chicken out. I stood in the middle of my room awkwardly.

"Umm hey can you get me Bella?" I felt embarrassed although no one was there to see me. I had no idea how this was supposed to work so I just stood there and waited for a few seconds. I was just about to sit down again when a Bella stood at the doorway.

"You called?" she asked. I just nodded, too confused to even question how she knew.

"I was wondering if you'd give me some…feedback on a song that I just composed." I fumbled with the words but Bella just nodded. I sat on the piano bench and Bella slid next to me. I restrained a shiver as her warm skin pressed against mine. I cleared my throat although it was unnecessary. I started the piece I composed and let the notes flow, I felt myself relax although I was still hyperaware that Bella was sitting next to me… god, I sounded like a girl. I came to a stop and watched Bella, her eyes were closed and a slight smile was on her lips. Immediately I knew that I had developed some feelings of sorts for this girl. Hesitantly I leaned in a little bit, coming to my senses I straightened up and just in time. Bella opened her eyes.

"That was nice." She complimented.

"You liked it?" I asked stupidly although she basically just said that she did. I felt like smacking myself.

"Yes." Bella said. "I'm glad you wanted to share it with me."

I opened my mouth and then stopped for a second, debating on whether or not I wanted to tell her that she inspired the song. I closed my mouth and shook my head.

Bella looked at me and whispered, "Okay."

An unidentifiable mood seemed to settle over us and I quickly tried to break the atmosphere. "So do you play?"

Bella hesitated and then nodded. She brought her hands to the keys and a beautiful melody flowed out. I looked at her, amazed, when she finished but she closed her eyes. Her shoulders sagged and the glimpse I got of her eyes I had seen tears. I sat there, unsure of what to do. Finally I settled on wrapping my arms around her shoulders. I had no idea what was wrong so I said nothing. When Bella opened her eyes they once again took that eerie look, as though she had seen everything (and she probably had) and was tired of the world. I let go of her.

"That was amazing." I stated. Bella just smiled sadly at me.

"Someone I knew made that for me once."

I nodded solemnly, by the sad look on her face I assumed they had died…

"You want to talk about it?" I asked, hoping I hadn't crossed into dangerous territory.

Bella seemed to lean against me for support. "I don't know what to say. I got attached to a human and they had terminal heart disease and eventually they died. Of course they would've died eventually being a human but maybe it was just seeing them so sick and so sad that hurt me so much… or maybe I had developed a special bond with them. I can only guess."

I carefully hugged her. The watery look in her eyes made her look so fragile and it was hard to believe she could be as frightening and powerful as she is. She gazed unseeingly at the piano.

"It always seems that all the good people have rotten luck. I can't think of a better person then them."

I felt sad for her. Bella just sighed heavily and gently took my arms off her before standing up. She looked ready to leave but I stopped her, put my hand on her arm. She looked over at me questioningly.

"I composed that piece for you." I said, gathering all the nerve I had, just to utter those simple words. A smile graced Bella's lips and she hugged me lightly before quickly kissing my cheek. And then she was gone.

I just stood in the same spot with a silly smile on my face while touching were she kissed me.

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**Sorry for not updating sooner even though I promised you would! Hey, I seriously had this chapter down and had intended to post it the day winter break started but the internet connection was out. :( Anyway, sorry if it seems choppy at parts, I had worked on it various different times over the span of a week. So could you people _please_ review?! My ego is in need of some serious boosting.**

**This one goes out to a friend with terminal heart disease, you really are one of the best people I know and you HAVE made a difference in the world. Don't you let anyone tell you different!**


	12. Fear

It was hard to tell time in a castle like this. I wasn't sure if it was hours that passed or days while I sat at the piano, working on composing the ultimate masterpiece for her. I sighed in frustration as I couldn't think of what notes. I let my hands just fall on the keys and ran my hands through my hair. Quickly I pushed myself up from the bench and walked to the door, yanking it open. I just wanted to get away from my room for a while. I wandered through the corridor and was disappointed when after a few minutes I hit a dead end. There was a large painting on the wall so I leant in to examine it, my hand brushed across a somewhat loose stone and I gave a startled yelp as the painting disappeared and instead a small room was what I was looking at through an opening, where the painting should've been, in the wall. I reasoned with myself that it was an old castle and it was likely that it would have a secret passage way. Curiosity took the better of me and I looked around before stepping in. I wasn't surprised when the entrance to the room closed behind me. I looked around and surveyed the area. It was a simple small sitting room, just a chair in the center that was in front of a fireplace, which in turn was next to a cabinet. I noticed a bit of stale air coming into the room and briefly inhaled, trying to determine where it was coming from. Then I noticed a small bit of the wall which wasn't touching the ground; it was all but covered by the cabinet. Intrigued I took a step closer and then gently pushed the wooden cabinet to the side. I examined the gap and grasped the bottom of the wall with my fingers before giving it a gentle nudge upwards; nothing happened. Obviously vampire strength was going to come in handy now, so I pushed it up with more force and was pleasantly surprised when it went all the way up with no sound. The chamber that it led to was so dark that I was sure any lesser being would've been blind form the lack of light. It smelled damp and I could feel that it was several degrees below freezing in here. Nevertheless, I trudged into the passage. After walking for a few minutes I wondered were I was going when my eyes picked up light ahead. I fastened my pace and I was there in no time.

Disappointment flooded me as I looked around and I saw that it was simply another chamber. It had a dim glow to it, giving it an almost eerie effect. The walls were made of black stone, obsidian, or something so much older and more sinister. I assumed the walls in the first chamber were made of the same thing but it had been so dark in there that I really hadn't bothered looking at it much. It wasn't as musty in here as it was in the passage way. I breathed in as I tried to identify another very subtle scent that was mixed in with the air. I was startled as I noticed Bella; she seemed to have melted out of the shadows of the wall, I was almost certain she wasn't there before.

"So you found the passage ways." Bella stated rather than asked.

"Yes." I responded somewhat nervously. In a room like this it was easy to imagine Bella doing horrible things. I mentally slapped myself for such a thought.

Bella smiled at me, fear crept into me as I realized it wasn't exactly a friendly smile but more of a grim, dark smile. "Of all the places in this castle you found this one."

She seemed to mutter it more to herself but my curiosity spiked once again. Ignoring my instinct I spoke up. "What is so special about this room?"

Her intelligent violet eyes bore into my own. "It doesn't have a good history, let's leave it at that."

I took a step forward, going in her direction. I stepped in a small puddle, of water I assumed. "What happened in here Bella, I want to know."

"Alright then." She murmured, her eyes getting a dangerous glint in them as her chin thrust up arrogantly, her posture stiff and straight. "Curiosity killed the cat."

A shiver rippled down my spine as she said that. She was perfectly serious and for the first time I debated on whether or not to listen to my instinct and run. I pushed away the thoughts and tried to do the same with my fear as I stood my ground. For the first time I took into account what Bella looked like at the moment. Her black hair was in perfect ringlets, framing her porcelain face. She was extremely pale, not just pale but so much so that it would've looked sickly on any other person. She was wearing a long black dress and she looked stunning and frightening.

"I'm a dangerous person Edward." Bella's rich voice purred. "I haven't always been getting my energy from space. I'm no where near as good as anyone from your family, I've killed so many that the deaths caused by Jasper are insignificant numbers."

The glow of the room cast upon her face and a shudder rippled through me. She stepped forward, closing the distance between us, her fingers caressing my arm, leaving me paralyzed in place.

"I enjoyed sucking the energy out of people and soon I began to kill people in gruesome ways just to entertain myself. I'd torture them and do horrible stuff to them in this very room."

My mind started painting pictures of the events on its own accord. My eyes widened in absolute terror as I pictured the horrible things. Bodies being ripped apart, lung being punctured, people being crushed, and more disturbing things that I could not even begin to describe.

"I let myself go and in return darkness consumed me. Originally the bodies were put in the other chamber you saw but the numbers grew so much that there would be piles and piles of corpses laying everywhere for the world to see. It was almost like a warning to anyone who was going to come with me but they were too captivated by me to do anything. I'd kill children, woman, men; no one would come back alive after an encounter with me. And then one night I met a man whom I fell in love with. He ended up having just as dark as ending as the others, courtesy of me, but he helped bring me back a little bit. Slowly I began to fight what I had become and worked to become a better person. As a reminder of what I had become I made these chambers part of my castle but as a punishment whenever I come down in here I loose myself again. You should heed this warning well because I still am just as dangerous now."

I stood there shaking. Bella spoke up again, her voice strained. "Leave now, before my restraint fades."

I didn't need to be told twice; I sprinted out and ran until I bumped into Jasper, who was sitting with the rest of the family.

"Edward!" Everyone exclaimed. I just stood there and stared at them before managing a nod.

Jasper looked at me strangely. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, my voice quivered and it was extremely quiet.

Jasper grasped my shoulders, his brows pulling together. "You're absolutely terrified, no beyond terrified, there isn't even a word to describe what you're feeling."

Concerned looks were dominant on everyone's faces. I didn't say anything as the image of a child being ripped limb to limb flashed across my mind. I felt waves of content and calm being pushed upon me. Slowly I relaxed but I still didn't answer anything anyone was trying to ask me. They sat there for hours trying to coax out information from me but I kept my mouth shut firmly.

Rose growled in annoyance. "We've been at this for hours and he still won't say a thing, why don't we get Bella to see if she'll get anything out of him."

My fear spiked and Jasper's eyes widened. "I'm pretty sure he'll tell us soon. We don't need to bother her."

Alice gave Jasper a look. "No he won't, and we're getting Bella; that's final."

Emmett looked around. "Could you please bring Bella?"

It was obvious he had done this before. A few seconds passed by and then Bella glided into the room. She looked different; her hair was straight again and she was wearing dark washed jeans and a grey silk drape top with teal heels. Gone was that hungry look in her eyes, instead there was a sad, somewhat apologetic look.

Carlisle and Esme quickly explained the situation to her and Bella gave me a look, one that had an emotion I couldn't quite place.

"I'll see if I can talk to him." Bella's voice said sweetly and sincerely to the family. She took me by the hand, giving me no choice but to follow, and led me out of the room. I was expecting her to take me to the dungeons again but instead she led me to a cozy family room. I sat down on the cushiony couch and Bella sat down with me. Suddenly she broke out sobbing and hugged me.

"I'm so sorry Edward." She said over and over again. I wondered if she was just trying to gain my trust again and then try to eat me or something.

"You shouldn't have seen that. Do you remember when we were down there and I said that I loose myself every time I go into those chambers?"

I nodded, mutely.

"What I mean by that is the darkness takes over me again! And I have to visit them once every year to remind myself of what I had done. You caught me at a horrible time. It took all my restraint not to take some of your energy and it didn't help that you were prolonging your visit there by asking me to tell you what happened down there, I was so close to breaking!" Bella explained as tears streamed down her face. No longer did I think she was just acting for she seemed genuinely upset. I felt remorse as I realized how I had pushed her to her limits down there. Hesitantly I wrapped my arms around her and gently cradled her back and forth. She buried her face in my shirt and cried, for what I suspected was not only what she told me and almost did to me but for all the cruel and unjust things she did to those people. I could offer no words of comfort as I watched her heart break in front of me. I waited until she wiped her tears away.

"What I had done was worse than killing anyone; I just can't get rid of the guilt though for doing something so… evil. Yes, I have killed people at other times as well but the way I tortured them is something that I just can't get over. Not only that but I killed a man I loved." Bella looked close to crying again so I hugged her closer and placed a kiss on her forehead, one that I enjoyed a bit too much.

Bella let out a shaky breath and composed herself. "I may not be dangerous when I break down like that but still, be careful around me. That was only a taste of what could've happened to you, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself afterwards if anything really did happen."

A chill passed through me but I didn't say anything. Instead I just nodded and once again kissed her forehead, although this time it was completely unnecessary. We walked out of the room and to the family. They were absolutely thrilled when they discovered that I was no longer so disturbed. Jasper's shoulders seemed to sag in relief and I didn't miss the look that passed between him and Bella. I peeked into Jasper's mind and he seemed to intend to talk to Bella later. I let it slide without a comment but I was pretty sure that Jasper picked up on me knowing what was going on but neither of us said anything.

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**Eh, well who knew I would be so busy over break? I'm really upset that its going to end soon but I'm going to try to stuff as much activity as I can in the next few days :). Happy New Years everyone!! It is officially 2010 and I thought what the hey, I haven't posted a chapter in so long and they deserve one plus its also the start of a new year so I made this chapter a little longer. I hope you guys like it :) Anywaaaaay, some reviews would be deeply appreciated. Maybe the chapters will come out faster once you guys give me as many reviews as you had been before *hinthint*. So click away at the button below; good things will come of it.**


	13. Comfort

JPOV

"I'm going to go hunting." I announced flatly. Edward looked up, his eyes meeting my own and his emotions told me all I needed to know, he knew my intentions. Everyone's hands automatically went to their throats, as if they only know realized the burn. Bella looked at me speculatively and I didn't doubt that she misunderstood the meaning behind my words.

"Well," Bella said, getting up, "I'll have to escort you. Whenever any of you guys hunt it can only be in groups of one or two and unfortunately you'll have to deal with me watching you."

Everyone seemed willing enough to accept this. I nodded toward the door that led out of the room and Bella swiftly walked through, leading the way to the entrance hall, which I hadn't been in since we arrived. The doors opened without Bella touching them. I noticed some time during our stay here that there seemed to be invisible servants, they were the ones that got Bella, made the beds, lit the fireplaces etc.

Soon, we were just running through the woods. I didn't bother listening for any animals because we both knew that there was also another reason why I wanted to get out of the castle.

When I finally came to a stop Bella was up in a tree, sitting on the branch lowest to the ground, one foot dangling.

"So?" She prompted, waiting for me to say something.

An unintentional snarl left me. Before I could really comprehend what I was doing I was lunging at Bella. Quicker than light, Bella jumped down, her feet landing on the floor without a sound. I didn't seem in control of my actions as I tried to approach her again, my arm blindly swiping in her direction. She ducked and with one lithe movement she had my arms restrained and she was behind, her face near my own.

"Calm yourself Major." She said, her cool breath fanning over my face making me feel dazed and dreamy. Now it wasn't that I was still in love with her but even when she wasn't even trying she was basically the ultimate seductress, it was her talent after all; so I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a little bit like a hormonal teenager.

I controlled my emotions and quickly remembered my reason for insisting on the hunt in the first place. "What did you do to Edward?"

It wasn't that I though Edward couldn't take care of himself, in fact I'm perfectly aware that he can, but whatever had happened had terrified him and I was sure Bella was the cause; after all, his fear had increased by a tenfold when someone merely mentioned getting Bella. I had been nothing compared to his emotions when Bella actually appeared. And then she talked to him and suddenly he came back feeling reassured, at peace, and hopelessly in love (although I doubt that he'd even realized it himself). Bella just let out an annoyed sigh as though that subject was closed a long time ago. I arched an eyebrow and then felt a foolish as I realized she couldn't see it, due to the fact that she still had my arms pinned down.

"Isn't it enough that Edward came back, happy and perfectly safe?" Bella asked.

I shook my head no but it came out more as a jerk because Bella's face was still so near to my own.

"Well, if you insist; Edward found me when I was in a chamber that basically takes away all my self control and I was pretty close to taking his energy after I told him a gruesome story about my past." When she finished her bluntly put, and unanticipated (due to the fact that Bella normally holds out on us), monologue I noticed from the corner that was peeking at me with a slightly hopeful expression. I really didn't know what to say. I hadn't expected an answer to come so easily.

I heard Bella huff in irritation as I didn't say anything and before I knew it I was shoved and she was no longer gripping me, I stumbled, saving myself from a fall thanks to vampire speed. Bella was sitting back on the tree with a bored expression when I looked up.

I shrugged uncertainly. "I guess it is ok if it was by accident…"

A grin appeared on Bella's face and I was disturbed as I realized how similar her behavior was to Emmett's. She got down from the tree once again and came up and hugged me. "Thanks Major. I expected some tedious speech to come from you."

I chuckled, unsure if that was an insult, and kissed her hair. I was briefly reminded of those glorious days where we would sit by a lake (when I was off duty of course) on the grassy fields and just share stories. I smiled at the memory.

"I know, that place really was beautiful." Bella agreed. It was always obvious to Katharine what my thoughts were because we had known each other so well but I found it a little strange coming from her while she looked so different. Bella chuckled and with a golden flash she was back to the form of Katharine. I hugged her.

"Yes, it really was. And it had been so much fun." I sighed as I was pulled down by memories. Katharine patted my back.

"Now are you going to hunt or what? Because I'm not taking you back without your eyes being back to gold colored."

I rolled my eyes. "You know you're basically as impatient as Emmett."

She tugged my hair and I winced slightly. "Emmett knows perfectly well how to be patient. He has had years of practice."

I silently disagreed with her and I knew she caught on. She gave me an expression that almost seemed to say 'just watch, you'll see I'm right'.

"You obviously have never lived with Emmett." I muttered. She gently nudged me forward and ignored my comment. I took off running and was fully aware of her following me with ease. I noticed after a while that her feet weren't even touching the ground, instead she was floating a few centimeters above the ground.

As we came to a stop once again I let some of amusement show. "Scared to get your shoes dirty?"

She stuck her tongue out at me and let her feet touch the floor. I smiled before I closed my eyes and listened around me. Quickly I took off running; only after a drained a family of lynx I noticed that I hadn't even sensed Katharine even though she was right behind me the whole time. I quickly looked back to make sure she was still there and she was, picking these strangely shaped flowers. I walked behind her and casually draped my arm around her.

"Don't kill any more wildlife." I said.

She gave me cocky grin. "What ever you say, Major."

I noticed her eyes were trained on the bodies of the animals that were poorly buried (excuse me for wanting to get back). I could offer no rebuttal for my own hypocrisy. Katharine just smiled and with a flash of gold she was back to Bella and we were running, or in her case, hovering, back to the castle.

We walked into the room the family was still in. Everyone looked at us after our arrival.

"You're floating?" Emmett asked.

Bella just rolled her eyes. "Would you guys let go of the me floating thing? And no, I don't care if my shoes get dirty."

I noticed Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Alice, and Edward pressing their lips together to suppress their laughter while Emmett looked confused at Bella's little outburst. Bella looked over at Rosalie.

"Do you want to go to the garage?" She asked.

Rosalie eagerly nodded. I laughed. Bella winked and started to walk away, Rosalie following.

EPOV

Everyone slowly followed, curious to see what the garage looked like and not wanting to be left alone. For some reason we were going up rather than staying on ground level but I learned not to question things such as this when in a place like this. Bella led us down a unfamiliar hallway and she stopped at a set of double doors. She then opened it up revealing a long narrow room that was metal and had lights on some sides. There was a row of cars… all probably more expensive than I could imagine. On the right wall, stretched the whole length of a wall was a bunch of material used for fixing cars, cleaning them, etc. On the left side the garage doors were open letting broad daylight stream in. Somehow we weren't in the forest and we were on ground level. I just shrugged it off, reminding myself that this place appeared out of no where.

I looked at Rosalie and winced, she was mentally screaming in excitement, which was very unlike her, and on the outside her mouth was open. I was sure that she would cry if she could. Immediately she began making her way to the cars and oohing and ahhing. Carlisle was looking at outside in interest. I walked outside and surveyed it. My eyes widened in surprise. Leading into the garage was a cement driveway like all normal driveways. But that wasn't what surprised me. On the outside it was a completely different house. A green lawn spread out in front of a simple, modern looking, house. It was nice and belonged to the richer neighborhoods. I looked up in alarm as I saw people around me. A jogger was approaching me and I was fully aware that I was out in the sunlight but the jogger seemed to take no notice. In fact, he didn't even notice me. Instead he looked over at the open garage and smiled. He waved at Bella and mouthed a Hello. Bella waved back, grinning.

I darted back inside. "What was that?!"

"Well, for the house, my castle moves to the places were I move. This is one appearance of it from my home back in Phoenix, Arizona. For the jogger not paying you any attention, I might've used a little energy power to conceal you from him for that moment." Bella explained. All of us, minus Rosalie who was too busy drooling over the cars to notice this entire event, nodded dumbfounded. This was when I first time that I noticed that Bella had taken on a different appearance. She was wearing blue shorts and a white Nike sports tank top. She had tan skin and ocean blue eyes; her hair was straight a light brown, with some streaks of blonde in it (that looked as though they had been lightened by the sun) and was left to cascade down her back.

I looked at her, feeling confused. She noticed this. "This is the appearance the neighbors always have seen me in."

I nodded, feeling incredibly dim. The others looked like they were feeling the same. Bella pointed at another door at the end of the garage. "That door leads into the house you just saw, which is normally the section of the castle that I spend the most time in, you can go inside and watch some tv or something if you don't want to stay out here."

I was still profoundly confused as to how this still could be part of the castle. I went through the door and found myself in an incredibly light, contemporary family room. A huge flat screen was on one wall with a large collection of dvds and game consoles which Emmett was immediately drawn to. I wandered around the house and was surprised as I realized I liked it more than the part of the castle we had been in; it was so much more homey and comfy. It was obvious that Bella had been in here recently, there were signs of it everywhere, dishes in the sink, a cup with coffee still in it, a book that was left spine up. I went up stairs and was surprised when I came to Bella's bedroom. The sheets were unmade (I thought she said she didn't sleep because of nightmares…?) and the walls were bright, bright colors. A orange color on one wall, lime green on another, lemony yellow (I sensed a citrus thing going on), and the orange color again. The bed was simple and probably made of oak wood. The comforter was an eye popping almost coral color with swirls of bright colors on it. Two comfy looking bean bags were in the corner of the room and there was a small bookcase of what I guessed were some of Bella's favorite books. A desk was pushed up in the corner of the room with an open laptop on it. All in all this room looked like one of a typical teenager… not what I imagined Bella in. I felt like I was somehow invading her privacy so I took one last look before I went downstairs.

Jasper and Emmett were engaged in an intense game of Super Mario Carts on the Wii and Alice was flipping through some fashion magazines she found somewhere. Esme was fiddling with a camera, looking at the pictures. Carlisle was known where in sight and I assumed he was in the garage. I went back out the door and my suspicions were confirmed. He was sitting next to Bella, whose face was covered by the hood of the car, and was asking her some questions. Rosalie was underneath the same car and I saw her hand shoot out and reach for a wrench. I briefly wondered what they were doing to the car, seeing as it was probably in perfect condition.

I sat down idly and listened to Carlisle's inquiries. Bella straightened up and wiped her forehead, leaving a black streak. "Honestly Edward, don't just sit there. If you really want something to do, come over here."

I obeyed and handed Bella tools whenever she asked for them while watching her tweaking some parts of the car, she mainly seemed to be working on the Front Sway Bar and Short Ram Intake. Her hands showed no hesitation as they moved along, working like a pro. As cheesy as it sounds, the moment I actually took the whole scene in I realized that I was desperately in love with Bella.

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**Woo! I'm proud I got a chapter up so quickly (because recently I haven't been updating this quickly). It might've had to do with major procrastination on homeowork... either way, i'm going to try to keep getting the chapters out. I'm sorry if the chapter isn't that interesting, I had major writers block so I just seemed to go into detail while describing things. I also would like to thank all the people who reviewed the last chapter specially. Then another thanks goes out to the people who have been reviewing the chapters, even when they aren't coming out every single day. Then to all you people who are jsut reviewing at all! Like I said, REVIEW... please *insert puppy dog eyes here* I might just get chapters out faster that way....**

***By the way, I am also guilty of stealing the idea of invisible servants from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series (you should read it if you haven't).**


	14. Clubs

I didn't know what to do. The realization hit me so suddenly that I froze up. Bella looked over at me. "Screwdriver?"

I nodded and awkwardly dug my hand into the pile of tools that lay in my lap. I found the screwdriver and handed it over to her; feeling nervous. She would never feel attracted to me… and to top it off she has had so much more experience when it comes to love and… I felt embarrassment just thinking about it. I cleared my throat. "I think I'll go back inside."

Bella just gave me a dazzling smile. "Alright then, thanks for your help."

I walked back into the family room. Everyone looked up at me. I didn't know why but I felt extremely guilty when they were looking at me, as though I had done something unthinkable. Jasper smirked at me as he felt my emotions. I scanned his mind and he told me, and I quote _"Sucks for you."_ Great, just the motivation I needed. I made a face at him and Emmett looked curious.

"Care to inform us what you guys are having a conversation about?" Alice piped, voicing Emmett's thoughts.

"Eddie here," Jasper snickered as he said that. I rolled my eyes; he picked up the nickname from Emmett. "Has finally realized something very important."

Jasper's expression said that he would tell them later, in private. I was thankful that he wouldn't say it out loud with everyone, including Bella, being able to hear; although it was clear that everyone in my family would learn later anyway. Emmett smiled as though he had a clue of what Jasper was talking about but when I tried to read his mind he was mentally reciting The Bill of Rights. I huffed in annoyance.

Knowing that everyone would start pestering me with their thoughts I got up and left the room. Somehow I ended back in Bella's bedroom… I still hadn't gotten used to the fact that it was so normal. Curiously my gaze turned to the glowing laptop screen. A screensaver was on and it showed a slideshow of pictures with Bella (in the form she was in now) happily smiling with different people. I moved the cursor and the images disappeared giving me a website she had been on recently. I just stared at it… who knew Bella had a facebook? Quickly I looked away, not wanting to invade her privacy, although I was technically doing so by being in her room. There was another cup sitting on her nightstand. I peeked at it and saw orange juice inside. I went over to the book shelves and looked at her favorite books. I ended up picking Harry Potter off the shelves and I sat down and started to read it. I soon found myself immersed in the series.

The sound of a foot tapping brought me out of my own world and I looked up to see Bella standing over me with an amused expression on her face. I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm glad you enjoyed the reading so much."

I grinned and she offered a hand to help me up. I grabbed it and in one swift movement I was on my feet again.

"Well everyone wants to go out tonight so go and get ready." Bella said. I nodded and we exited the room. Soon the family was following us as we left the garage and were back inside the castle. Everyone left to go to their own rooms to go and get dressed so I followed their example as I watched Bella go back to the garage.

Once I put on the outfit Alice had insisted I wear (I can dress myself, thank you very much). I met up with my family in a sitting room.

"So before we go meet up with Bella are you going to tell us what Edward realized today?" Alice asked.

Jasper smirked and gave me a glance. "Edward loves Bella."

"I knew it." Emmett muttered. Alice squealed in delight and Rosalie smiled, accepting it surprisingly easy. Esme and Carlisle looked happy. It was just such a typical reaction.

Before any of them could say a thing I got up. "Let's go see Bella."

They were willing enough and soon we were back to the door that led to the garages. I knocked hesitantly and after a second the door opened, revealing Bella. Her hair was down, mussed a little bit and she was wearing a dangerously short black strapless dress. It had a bit of layering on the stomach area. She paired it with black peep toe high heels, two gold bracelets, and a turquoise necklace. In other words, I was screwed.

I stood there for a few seconds, gaping before I realized how stupid I looked. I managed to stutter out, "Where exactly are we going?"

Rosalie looked at me, amusement obvious. "Oh I forgot to tell you didn't I? We're going to a club."

What the hell? Since when did large groups of vampires (plus Bella) go to clubs… and more importantly, since when did Carlisle and Esme go to clubs? Bella looked like she was holding back laughter as she patted my hand reassuringly. We then were led inside.

"Hey Rose?" Bella called. Rosalie looked up.

"Do you want to pick which car we're driving tonight?"

Rosalie's eyes sparkled and she happily accepted. We ended up sitting there for five minutes as Rose was choosing. Finally she settled on the _Mclaren F1_ and _Pagani Zonda C12 F _as she informed us. I happily went into the car Bella drove while Emmett, Carlisle, and Esme went into the one Rosalie was driving. Alice managed to make me sit next to Bella which I was extremely thankful for.

The tires squealed as Bella quickly pulled into a space that another car was racing her to try to get it. The guys in the car honked the horn loudly and gave her the finger. And then Bella stepped out of the car. I laughed as I saw their mouths drop open. Bella walked up to the car, by the driver's window which was rolled down and she leaned inside.

"I'm so sorry for taking your space; I just didn't want to walk very far because of my heels." Bella said her voice harmonious. She put her hand on the guys arm as she said it, removing all of the guy's thoughts of keying the car.

"No, no it's completely fine with me. I wasn't planning on parking there anyway." The guy answered in a husky voice. I couldn't help feel a little jealous. Bella smiled angelically and kissed him on the cheek before straightening up and walking away. We all followed her.

"Bella?!" Jasper exclaimed, his voice sounding strangled.

Bella's eyes widened and she looked up innocently at him. "What? Ask Edward, he wanted to key my car!"

Jasper's eyes went to me and I nodded in conformation. He shrugged, seeming uncertain. Alice just chuckled and winked at Bella once Jasper turned around. Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, and Esme caught up.

"Nice one Bells!" Emmett laughed, gently patting her on her back. I internally scoffed, typical Emmett. Rose just smiled and Carlisle and Esme said nothing, just humorously shaking their heads.

"So are we going to go inside or not?" Alice asked, tapping her foot impatiently. I tried to restrain myself from rolling my eyes at her tactics but I failed miserably. Bella caught it and giggled a little bit. Then she led the way to the entrance. The bouncer stood there, momentarily dazed before asking for ID. Bella whipped out a card and flashed it at him. Everyone else promptly did the same. As I shouldered past the man I gave him an icy look, angry with what he had been thinking about my sisters and Bella. I smirked as he flinched.

I stepped inside and groaned. I could hear the music from the club a mile away but being inside it was horrible. Who would submit themselves to this kind of torture? The smell of so many humans packed together and alcohol hit me harder than it did in the parking lot. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Different color lights flashed on and off. Everything about this place just threw my senses off. Whose idea was it to come here?

Emmett, Alice, and Bella seemed unaffected. I had noticed Jasper and Carlisle occasionally wince and Rose rub her head a few times. Esme just looked disturbed by the horrible music they were playing.

We were just sitting down on the bar stool when the barista came over and handed drinks to Rose, Bella, and Alice. "These are from the men down by the pool table."

I caught him looking at Bella and when she noticed this he winked before walking away. The girls' gazes went over to the pool table and I noticed some properly dressed guys over there. Not more than 23 and two of them had wedding rings on their fingers; I noticed that one had slipped his off and put it in his pocket. Bella had a looked at them distastefully but she picked up the glass of some fruity beverage and took a sip anyway.

"Bella," Esme chided, unable to refrain from doing so.

Bella put her hands up as though surrendering. "Hey, I don't approve of humans drinking but I don't get liver problems and what not when I drink, I don't get drunk either."

The barista came over again and slid a drink to Bella. "Scotch on the rocks from the blonde in the booth near the door."

Everyone automatically looked over there and we weren't prepared for the sound that came out of Bella's mouth. I wasn't sure how to describe it… it wasn't a snarl or a growl but it was pretty horrible and it sent shivers down all our spines. I looked at her with wide eyes as she got up and stalked over to the guy. He had been watching her the entire time and had opened the back door and went out through it. My family and I got up and followed her, seeing no other choice but to do so. Bella pulled the door open and stepped into the dark street the man had gone to. Lots of people were spread out casually talking. There weren't as many people out here but unlike the people in the club they seemed aware of what was going on around them. That seemed to be what the man wanted.

He stopped in front of Bella and she angrily shook her head. "No, if you come here we're doing it my way."

She stepped forward and grabbed him by his arm dragging him off somewhere. He looked absolutely terrified. I noticed a few people curiously looking over so I smiled reassuringly to them. Bella led the guy down an unevenly paved, narrow, deserted road that was toward the side. I could here cars zooming by, just a building or two away.

The man had composed his expression (although according to Jasper he was still terrified). It was obvious he was a vampire; he had the pale skin and red eyes. I cursed myself for not smelling him earlier; it was just that the club was so overwhelming. "A storm is coming."

I had no idea what he meant and when I tried to look into his thoughts they were just trying to strategize if Bella was going to attack him. I finally looked over at her and I was unnerved. Her pupils had transformed into cat like slits, a dark sinister purple color that was rimmed with mahogany. Her expression was fierce and she pounced on him. Before I could even comprehend what was going on he was torn into pieces and a smoke started to rise from the small fire that was now present.

Bella looked over at us, looking normal again. Worry seemed dominant on her features. "Let's go."

It looked like party time was over.

* * *

**So tell me what you think! I was going to type this up a few nights ago but I ended up being busy and then last night I thought I would be free but I then I went to a dance with some friends and you get the point (but might I mention that there were some extremly hot guys there, haha). By the way, I'm expecting more reviews this time! I mean seriously guys, you can do better than that!! Pretty please with a cherry on top? Ciao darlings!**


	15. Danger

I watched in confusion as Bella bit her lip and then motioned for us to follow her. Instead of going back the way we came she led us further down. Emmett just stood there for a few seconds, trying to decipher what was going on, Bella grabbed his arm and hauled him forward. When Carlisle looked like he was going to ask a question Bella put her finger to her lips, her expression slightly pleading. She beckoned us forward and then took a turn. After a while we ended back up in the club's parking lot. She pointed to the cars and the message was clear. We all got in like we had been before and then Bella sped off. I heard Rosalie hot in pursuit. Once Bella got to her street she slowed down and then opened the garage door. Both Rosalie and Bella pulled into their spaces and parked. Once we all got out Bella quickly closed the garage door and stepped inside the house for privacy.

"What's going on?" Emmett demanded. "What did that guy mean by 'a storm is coming'?"

Bella ignored the question and stared at all of us intently. "Did any of you guys go out someplace without me, or at least without telling me?"

No one said anything. Then Jasper stepped forward. "I did."

Bella's eyes flashed and she looked at him angrily. "Don't lie to me."

Jasper seemed to shrink back. Bella ignored him and looked at Alice, her expression was now patient; she seemed to be waiting for a confession. Alice slowly nodded her head, confirming that it was in fact her. Jasper looked at Bella, his eyes begging her. Bella just rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to do anything to her Major. I just want to ask her some questions."

Jaspers posture relaxed and he stepped back again. Alice looked at Bella hesitantly. "What do you want to know?"

"Did you smell any other vampires when you were out?" Bella questioned.

Alice shook her head. "No, nothing I was completely sure of. There was this one scent that was off but that was about it."

Bella looked thoughtful. "Okay. I think I know what's going on."

"Care to inform us?" I asked hopefully. Bella ran her hand through her hair.

"I don't want to worry any of you guys…"

"You can tell us, we'll be able to handle it." Emmett said with a grin. Bella smiled a little bit and she gave Emmett a knowing look. Immediately his thoughts started to repeat one word over and over again, blocking me. I huffed in irritation, wondering what was going.

"Well… I'll have to rewind. Remember the meeting I had after I rushed off from the mall? Afterwards I had told you that someone might say something to the Volturi. Well he was tracked down and killed but he had managed to get word out to someone, I wasn't sure who it was at first. Apparently it's a small coven of vampires. You guys should know them, James, Laurent, and Victoria. Yes, they had gotten in a large quarrel with you a few decades ago. They still hold a grudge against your family for that. When they were informed that you were with me, they were ecstatic. They wanted to kill you. So they've been creating an army of newborns and they want to take you guys down with it. They aren't necessarily aware of my part in this, in fact as far as I'm aware they still have no idea that I exist; which is good. But the thing that isn't good is that the army of newborns has been attracting the attention of the Volturi recently. They're probably going to come sometime soon… which is not good for me or for you guys. Considering that not only have you been interacting with me but Aro had never been informed of Edward, Alice, or Jasper's powers. Carlisle was right in not telling him but still it would not end well."

Esme's expression turned into one of worry. Rose looked confused. "But how do you know that it's James's coven?"

"James had been here when Alice was out and sent Victoria to make sure it was your coven. Victoria's power is to conceal her scent somewhat, she can't fully eliminate it but she can make it distinct. James has a power that pulls him to where he needs to be so that is probably why he ended up here in Phoenix at the perfect time, for him anyway. Victoria confirmed that it was you guys and that, I guess, is when they started creating the newborns."

While I tried to process this, Carlisle buried his head in his hands. "I knew that the fight had been a mistake. But when James had begun taunting Alice about how he changed her Jasper had pounced on him. And then I really had gotten worried when it somehow ended in the death of one of their coven members and they seemed to leave peacefully. If only I had saw this coming. Of course they would want revenge."

Alice looked extremely guilty and I felt bad for her. I was about to try to tell her something but Bella beat me to it. "Alice, none of this is your fault. Lighten up."

Alice managed a smile that looked somewhat like a grimace. Bella put her hand on Alice's shoulder and then she gave her a certain look. Almost instantly Alice seemed to relax a little. She still looked a bit guilty but she seemed to have understood something that was going on in Bella's head when she had given her that look. I smiled slightly at Bella, thankful that she cheered up my sister.

"But can't you just kill all the newborns like you had with the one man in the alley?" Esme asked.

"Normally I would be able to but with you guys here some complications would arise. I could still kill most of them except because the army is so large, considering it is almost 40 newborns." Here we all gasped in horror, this was a serious matter. "Some of them would probably be able to get past me while I was killing others and because their main goal is to kill you guys they would not stop until they found you. Laurent had gotten the job of making sure the only newborns they kept are the ones with the powers, so you guys would be facing some formidable enemies."

Everyone looked worried, I'm sure I did too. Things were not going great. I rubbed my temples trying to think. "So what's going to happen?"

Bella's expression was conflicted. Her features seemed to momentarily strain and for a second I caught a flash of some unidentifiable emotion. Then she seemed almost regretful. I locked eyes with her. Her ocean colored eyes actually seemed to be waves churning relentlessly. I wasn't sure what my expression looked like but she seemed to be made even more upset by the look, her expression briefly turning into some kind of self loathing as though she blamed this all on herself, for dragging us into this mess in the first place. I mean in a way if she never came into our lives we would still be ignorant and content enough, living in Forks and then continuing on with our cycle. But I could never hold any of this against her. In the past few weeks I learned more than I could ever bring myself to imagine. I experienced new things and everyone was a great deal happier before. Bella had opened our eyes to new possibilities. She brought me closer to Rose, something I wouldn't have dreamed of in a million years. Of course there was always that constant danger of being around her, as this experience, plus the one in the dungeons had proved. Either way I fell in love with her. So hopelessly in love that I wouldn't have things any other way.

I suppose it was somewhat selfish, not caring that my family was endangered just because I wanted to be with Bella, but I'm sure they had all grown attached to her. It wasn't just about that air around her that seemed to draw people to her but we actually had gotten to know her as a person and she wormed her way in each of our hearts, no matter how strange of a relationship. I know that either way, even if I had wished it, I wouldn't have been able to go back in time anyway so I might as well even make the best of what I have; Even if we seemed to be facing a very dangerous situation. I let out a breath and looked away, feeling completely overwhelmed by the power behind Bella's gaze.

"You will all have to fight with me." Bella announced her voice sad. "I'm sorry."

No one said anything. While there was a good chance we would get away, considering Bella was on our side, none of us could imagine it if one of our family members was defeated in the process. Bella had after all mentioned all of the newborns having special powers.

Even Emmett, who would normally at this time make a boisterous comment of sorts, was silent. In his thoughts it was clear that he realized that one of us might not make it through.

Jasper looked at me from the corner of his eye. I nodded at him and he spoke up. "I could help you teach them how to fight, considering I used to be in Maria's army."

Bella inclined her head. "That would be helpful. And you have full permission to use your power, all the newborns will have powers and they need to get a feel of the unfair advantage… Although, I might be able to block some powers; it all depends on whether or not something I haven't tried yet works out. If I can't block the powers then maybe I'll be able to at least minimize the affect of them but it all depends on whether or not my experiments work."

We all stood there praying reverently to god, hoping this plan would work. I knew most of us did not believe in god but in situations like this it was almost necessary to have something to lean on, something to give you hope. Bella seemed to be a bit distracted as she watched our reactions. Carlisle looked at her pleadingly, almost as though he was begging her to somehow control the result of the experiment and make it work. Without it our family would have the lower hand because their powers would be able to affect us, even if Bella was on our side.

Bella smiled for our sake. "Come on; let's go back into the castle itself."

We all followed her wordlessly. Soon out of our own accord we seemed to migrate to the library. A fire was blazing in the hearth. We all seemed to sit somewhere near it, for it signified hope. Hope that Bella would be able to shield us; hope that none of us would be hurt. I watched as Bella walked forward. She was gazing into the fireplace, her expression intense as she seemed to be trying to concentrate on something. Wonder filled me as she lifted her gaze to meet my own. In that brief second I saw so much in her gaze. I couldn't even begin to describe it… it wasn't as though I saw her emotions but almost like the cycle of life was being reflected in there. I looked down quickly, trying to get hold of my jumbled thoughts.

* * *

**I promise, I had most of this chapter down on Monday but then I had to get off before I could finish and I ended up being busy on Tuesday so I couldn't write, etc. etc. Any who, this chapter may seem a little weird right now but later it will make more sense I guess. So I kinda feel lame, sitting here on a Friday night, doing nothing but I had to cancel going to a party (with this extremely hot guy that I was so looking forward to seeing again) because I felt like crap. And then when it was too late, I felt better. Sorry about my little rant, I just needed to vent. But before I leave I'm reallllllly looking for some reviews on this chapter. I'm serious. So go ahead and click away at that button. **

**XOXO - I**


	16. Laughs

After a while Bella retired and left the room. I watched the others holding each other and I felt sick to my stomach. I excused myself, earning an odd look from Jasper, but otherwise no one gave it much thought. As I walked through the corridors I came across a staircase that I was pretty sure led up to a tower. I went up there with out a thought and soon was in a small circular room with a pedestal with a blank canvas on it. There was a layer of dust on the floor and on the canvas and stool in front of it. I walked forward, my shoes leaving imprints on the floor, and looked out the small window. I sighed as I looked at the scene before my eyes. I was so high up that I could see everything; the sight that really grabbed my eyes though was sky. It was overcast, as it always is in Forks, but the clouds seemed more like a mix of onyx and sapphire, in some spots they cleared up a little, revealing a dark grey that was mixed with other unnamable colors that only supernatural creatures could see. The horizon was a vibrant red that was tinged with orange, streaking through the sky with such intensity that you had to blink. There was always something so much more different about sunrise than sunset. I sat on the stool and simply watched the sky until the sun was obscured by the clouds. With a weary breath, I got up. Looking at the near empty room I felt lonely so I moved to leave, glancing back one last time before shutting the door. Nature was the one thing that was always so unpredictable, the one thing that always had beauty. No matter how many years I've lived there was always something new that I saw. I walked until I found a familiar hall and then slowly but surely made my way to my bedroom.

After closing the door I retrieved my laptop from the duffel bag I had put in the closet and then sat down on the bed. I felt comforted by the faint hum and then opened a messaging box so I could send something to the Denali family. After getting a simple hello down I stared at the page watching the line blink repeatedly before shutting down my laptop realizing I really had nothing to tell them. Frustrated, I ran my hand through my hair before sitting down at the piano bench. I tried to play a tune but it turned out horrible. I was just too distracted. I couldn't get Bella's words out of my head, nor could I get her haunting blue eyes out of my head. I just stood in my room for a few seconds before yanking the door open and stalking through the castle. I felt like I was suffocating, for lack of better words.

"I'm going to go hunting." I murmured to the air and I waited patiently. After a few seconds Bella came through the door. She inclined her head at me and so I led the way. I took in a breath of air as soon as we exited by the main entrance. I exhaled in relief before looking back at the giant figure of the castle. It still looked as magical and beautiful as it did the first time but I just couldn't look at it the same way. I'm sure I would've loved it if I was there under any other circumstance; but being here because we needed to be hidden I felt almost… a prisoner. For once I just wanted to be back at our own home. I noticed Bella standing a few feet in front of me, waiting.

I ran forward, weaving through the trees, feeling happy as the air whipped my face. I couldn't even hear Bella behind me but I knew she was. After sensing a mountain lion nearby, I sped up. With a jump I landed on its back, startling it. I snapped its neck and drained it of blood, feeling my strength returning.

"I was wondering when you'd finally go hunting. Everyone else has already gone." Bella said, sitting on the grass weaving a crown with the flowers growing by a tree. I plopped down beside her, leaning back.

"Oh, I didn't notice." I answered, closing my eyes as a fat raindrop fell on my nose. I imagined Mike Newton out with his family doing something fun for winter break. I felt oddly envious of the annoying human.

Bella giggled and my hand automatically flew up to my head as I felt something on it. There was a crown of daisies. I let out a laugh and took it off before placing it on Bella' head. It went perfectly with the white silk nightgown she was wearing.

"You're in a night gown." I noted, surprised I missed it before.

Bella smiled. "Yeah, I thought that maybe I'd try to go to sleep tonight but then I decided against it. I just liked the feeling of the nightgown."

I grinned as she looked sheepishly at me. "So did you find out a way to block any of the powers?"

"Well… I think I might be able to. You're just going to have to be my guinea pig for when I test that out." She said as she cocked her head to the side. Oddly enough I found myself nodding. I looked up at the sky as the light rainfall turned into a down pour. I noticed Bella's gown was clinging to her and I realized mine were as well. My hair got in my eyes and I brushed it away.

Bella's eyes seemed to light up and she smiled over at me, "If you don't mind, I want to ask you another favor."

I looked at her. "Anything you want."

"Dance with me?"

I looked at her, afraid I'd misheard her, even though I knew it wasn't possible. "What?"

"I love dancing in the rain." She laughed, a grin spreading on her face. I smiled too, happy that she was happy. She grabbed my arm and took me out, a little further until I realized we were at a meadow. Not just any meadow but my meadow. I looked at her surprised; she just winked at me and kissed my cheek lightly. I touched were her lips met my skin and I felt like my face was going to split open because of how wide I was smiling. I must've looked like an idiot but I didn't care. I put my hand on her waist and she put her hand on my shoulder, our free hands clasping each other. I started to hum. I picked up in beat and began to twirl her. She laughed, her eyes sparkling. I surprised her as I brought her into an unexpected dip. We spiraled and spiraled around the meadow. Her bare feet softly touched the grass and my shoes were long forgotten by some tree. It was raining so hard I couldn't see further than about twenty feet away. I briefly wondered how bad it was for the humans before deciding I didn't care. Slowly the melody of the song slowed down and soon we weren't moving as much. Bella rested her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and soon we were just swaying in place while hugging.

"Thank you." Bella said. Her head lifted to look up at me. A smile was gracing features.

I laughed and kissed her hair. "Anytime."

She let go of me and then began twirling around she then started to sing lightly. I laughed and watched in amusement. She then stepped in the little stream and then shocked me as she sat fully in it. I grinned. She then got up and beckoned me to follow her as she sang out loud and skipped, following the stream. I stood there for a few seconds before running after her. I watched as she went up a little hill and finally I reached the top seconds after she did. I watched as she looked down. The stream was actually almost a river here because of the rain and slid down between the trees.

Bella looked over at me and grinned. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking??"

I looked over at her uncertainly. "You aren't actually going to… are you?"

In response she giggled. My eyes widened as she grabbed me by the waist, pulling me closer to her and then jumped. We slid down the water with lots of speed, some stray bits of mud flecking us as we passed the trees rapidly. Bella yelled in exhilaration and I began laugh.

"Wooo!" Bella shrieked and I began to hoot. We continued to go on and then finally we began to slow down. Soon we stopped and the water just began to flow around us.

"Emmett's going to be so upset when he learns that he missed this." I exclaimed. Bella clutched her sides as she began to guffaw.

After she finally regained her breath she said. "Ok, ok as much as I don't want to be a party pooper, I think it's time that we go back to the castle."

I pouted and she just patted my head with a cheeky smile on her face. She got up and started to run with me yelling, behind her. We ran into the castle, its doors already being wide open, ready for us. Bella began to tease me as she ran through the hallways, occasionally slowing down and then just as I almost caught her she'd speed up again. We ran into a large room and I jumped, grabbing her by the waist.

She laughed and held her hands up in mock surrender. "You caught me."

"So is everyone ready to be trained?" Bella asked brightly and at first I was confused but when I looked up I realized that my family was in the room. They were all looking at Bella and me with wide eyes. I couldn't help but I started to snicker and Bella's chortles followed soon after. Finally I could start to talk again.

"So are you going to train or sit there all day?"

I knew they had all the rights to stare at us strangely though; we must've looked like a mess. We were both barefoot and soaked through. Bella's hair was a mess and I imagined mine to be as well. Her once white night gown now had a brownish tinge.

Bella seemed to realize this too as she looked down at her gown. "After I change of course."

She quickly left the room, giving the other's time to regain their thoughts. A smile spread on Alice and Rosalie's faces. Emmett raised an eyebrow suggestively. "So you look dirty!"

Carlisle slapped his hand on his face and his smile. Esme looked at Emmett, chastising him. Jasper was trying not to laugh and Rose and Alice were unfazed. Embarrassment flooded through me. "No, it's not like that…"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Just go change… throw that outfit away when you're done, it's ruined beyond repair. We need to go shopping soon, your missing your shoes…"

I nodded knowing there was no point in protesting. As I headed to my room I passed Bella who was now wearing athletic navy blue shorts with a white strip down each side on top she was wearing a white v-neck short sleeved shirt, her hair was knotted back and she had no trace of mud on her. Instead of being bare foot she was wearing Nike running shoes. As she jogged, at human pace, past me she winked. "I think I'm going to tease them a bit… if you don't mind playing along once you get back?"

I smiled at her antics. "Of course I don't mind."

I went back to my room, quickly scrubbing off all the mud in the shower before putting on jeans and a polo shirt. Once I finished I raced back downstairs where everyone was waiting. They all stared at me with large eyes and I briefly wondered what Bella told them. Bella just grinned and skipped over to me, taking my hand before pressing her lips to my cheek. I smiled goofily and she started to lead us out of the room. She led us to a back door. She opened it and it revealed a sunny place. There was a grassy green field spread out for miles. Nothing was in sight. I shook my head and sighed. "I'm not even going to ask how that's possible."

"Good." Bella laughed. And we all filed onto the field.

"Ok darling, I'm going to fight with Jasper first." She let go of my hand and emphasized the word darling to get a point across. I stifled a laugh as I realized what Bella was doing.

"Of course love." I said smoothly and walked over to Alice. She was bouncing in place and looking between Bella and I. Bella broke out into a grin and I could tell she was trying to restrain laughter. The humor of it all was getting to me as well and I couldn't resist the small smile that spread over my face. Finally Bella's giggles surfaced.

"You guy's faces were priceless, I just couldn't help myself." She gasped.

I rolled my eyes. "And here I thought you were a good actress."

"Normally… but Emmett looks like an idiot." I turned to look at Emmett who really did look like an idiot. He was gaping and looked like a fish out of water. He realized we were ridiculing him and quickly closed his mouth.

"And here I was, thinking Eddie got lucky…" Emmett muttered, setting us all off. Even Esme and Carlisle couldn't help the laughs that bubbled through.

Bella fanned herself with her hand. "And now we really need to start training. I'll fight with Jasper first because he is the most experienced. And along with it I'll use vampire speed and strength. I think I may have found a way to block the powers so there won't be any unfair advantages for now."

The mood got serious and we watched as Jasper and Bella took stances across from each other.

* * *

**I ahve a reason for updating so late!! I'm serious! I had absolutely no internet connection and a major writer's block before that! I won't go into any details because I'd probably end up writing a small essay or soemthing. Anyway so please tell me how you liked the chapter, I really really really really really really really really really really etc am hoping for reviews because I've barely been getting any for the past few chapters (once again a thanks to all you people who have been reviewing... or at least even reading the author notes at the bottom). And so go ahead and click away at that button below!!!! Me loveseth all you people :)**


	17. Stranger

I watched in fascination as Jasper lunged forward, his scars gleaming dangerously in the sunlight. Bella easily sidestepped and then darted forward, momentarily catching Jasper off guard. But his military instinct kicked in and he moved back while keeping his arms tucked to his sides. Bella jumped and flipped so that she was behind him. Her arms catching Jasper's own, which were now blindly whipping at her, and her neck hovered inches above his throat. Suddenly she jerked up straight again.

"Your defense on your right side was too weak. You need to work on improving that and also remember that you are not a newborn. You should know better than to try to attack without the advantage of sight. Think back to your opponent's vulnerable spots and then attack them if they are behind you, trying to restrain you; that's when they will be least expecting to anything that could actually hurt them. When you first face you opponent you have to commit their appearance to memory, and as they fight you, you must make note of all of their moves trying to determine all their flaws." Bella stated, giving Jasper a meaningful look. The playful smirk that he had worn when they first started had vanished.

"Again," He growled. Bella looked at him skeptically for a second before nodding. They settled in their defensive positions opposite of each other again. Jasper crouched there, waiting for Bella to attack first. She did, throwing a punch in his direction. I read the surprise on Jasper's face and according to his thoughts he wasn't used to that kind of approach. Bella then kneed him in the stomach, making him curl up in pain for a second. I suddenly understood that the punch Bella threw was not aimed to hit him or hurt him; it was aimed to distract him. Jasper quickly rolled off the ground as Bella's hand swiped out to grab him. Jasper then lunged at her, throwing all of his body weight into it. She sidestepped but Jasper's arms shot out, grabbing her own bringing her down to the ground with him. As they both fell, Jasper moved so that he was on top of her, holding her down. Bella recovered quickly though and she intertwined her legs before weaving them through Jasper's spread out legs and she used his hands for leverage of sorts as she pushed off of the ground, twisting in the air. Now they were both on the floor again except Bella was on top and Jasper couldn't move in any way. Bella seemed to calculate exactly where she was going to hold him down because due to her steel grip Jasper was incapable of moving at all and was rendered helpless, regardless of his struggling.

A few strands of Bella's hair had fallen out of her bun making her seem, somehow, even sexier than before. I inwardly groaned. There was no way that I would be able to hold on my own while fighting her. Partly due to the attraction I felt for her and partly due to the fact that she was a being so much stronger than me with so much more knowledge about fighting than I could ever dream of.

I then watched Jasper, amusement showing through my otherwise calm exterior, as he started grinning smugly. "I actually managed to tackle you!"

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Because I let you…. Please, you wouldn't stand a chance against me if I was being fair."

I laughed, Bella didn't seem to like the idea he got about having some kind of advantage over her. Alice rolled her eyes at Jasper and dusted off the dirt from his clothes. Rosalie giggles burst through and Emmett was silently shaking with laughter as he pointed at Jasper. Carlisle and Esme just exchanged a look, as though to say "how immature could they get".

Suddenly the sound of a crack silenced us all. Then I saw it. A small bullet shot through the air, startling us so much that none of us made a move. I watched in horror as it pierced Bella's skin and embedded itself into her heart. I looked at Bella, panic seeping through me as I ran to her. What I didn't notice was that she hadn't even flinched. I stopped in front of her and frantically reached out, somehow getting the ridiculous idea that I could somehow help. Bella's hands caught my own and she kindly smiled at me before kissing my knuckles and locking them to my side. I watched as she looked down at her chest and gently picked out the bullet. Amazement filled me as I watched the wound close up, instantly healing. Bella held up the bullet; it was covered in this thick gold substance that I guessed was basically like Bella's blood.

Then the scent hit me, it was so delectable. Words couldn't describe the perfume of it when it wafted to my nose. My eyes darkened to coal black but oddly enough I still had no actual burn in the back of my throat… I just wanted it so badly. I inhaled, savoring the aroma.

Bella surprised me as she started to chuckle. "Only you Reston."

"Reston?" I asked in bewilderment. Bella smiled and pointed behind me. My eyes and my family's eyes all looked in the direction. Lounging by the door was a tall man. He had brown hair that seemed to have a hint of black in it. His skin was tanned and he had bright green eyes. His eyes didn't seem human, they looked more animalistic. His lips were wide open, revealing white somewhat pointy teeth. I knew he would be considered good looking to humans. He was wearing a tight navy blue v-neck and white basketball shorts. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the jagged scar that ran up his arm and disappeared under the fabric of his clothing. A gun was casually on the ground beside him. I didn't understand how we didn't hear him earlier.

My confusion doubled as I watched Bella run up and hug him. I watched enviously as his arms wrapped around her, his muscles flexing involuntarily as he moved. When I tried to read his mind he was just thinking about how good Bella smelled. I bit back a growl at that. I finally stopped trying to hear what he was thinking after his mind begun filling itself with trivial things about Bella's appearance. I sighed, what use was mind reading if you couldn't find out what you wanted with it?

"So when are you going to get rid of that thing?" Bella asked conversationally while gesturing to the gun and grinning.

Reston shrugged. "Once I run out of bullets. Then I can move on and make something else."

Bella rolled her eyes and then laughed. "Leave it to you…"

She didn't finish her train of thought as Reston grinned. He then peaked over at us.

"So who are the vamps?" He asked. Shock coursed through me as I belatedly realized that he knew exactly what we were.

"Oh, Cullens this is Reston, Reston these are the Cullens." Bella introduced.

"You guys got any names?" He asked us. Bella gave him a look.

"What? I've met some of them that were so uncivil as to not have names."

Alice waved. "I'm Alice."

Carlisle smiled uneasily as he introduced himself. Esme looked at Reston in interest. "Pleasure to meet you, I'm Esme."

Jasper's eyes raked Reston, reflexively taking in the stranger, as all his battle trainings had taught him to do. "Jasper."

"I'm Rosalie." Rose greeted coldly while eyeing the stranger critically.

Emmett gave a strange wave/salute thing. "Emmett."

I then realized the stranger's eyes were on me as he waited for my name. I nodded to him. "Edward."

The man cocked his head to the side for a second before seeming to realize what he did and straightening up. "As you all know, I'm Reston."

We nodded and then he surprised us. "Odd, you're animal drinking vampires."

He didn't sound very happy about it. Carlisle confirmed this and Bella sighed.

Reston turned his attention to her. "What are you preparing them for?"

Bella waved her hand dismissively. "Oh you know… an army of 40 newborns that all have special talents."

Reston looked momentarily surprised and he looked at us again for a second before turning his attention back to Bella. "Of course, that's the norm for you… I forgot."

Bella looked thoughtful for a second. "Maybe you could help."

"Depends, when is it?" Reston said, while absentmindedly tapping at his chin.

"Two weeks."

Reston shrugged. "Sorry, no I can't."

Rosalie's expression turned furious, conveying what we all were feeling at his casual manner at putting off Bella in a time of need. I watched as Rose's eyes turned coal black. "How could you?! Your friend needs your help and you're just saying that you can't!!"

Reston chuckled, unfazed, which seemed to piss Rose off even more. "This one's got quite a temper doesn't she?"

Bella glared at him and reassuringly hugged Rosalie, calming her down a little bit. Instead of looking like she was going to attack Reston she just settled on giving him death glares. Bella ran her hand through her hair. "Don't tease her like that!"

I raised my hand and Bella turned her attention to me. I cleared my throat. "Um… what exactly is going on?"

"When I said I couldn't help on that night, I really meant it." Reston sighed. Bella prodded him to go on and give us all the information we wanted.

"I'm a Child of the Moon." He stated. We all automatically stiffened. "Relax; I'm not going to hurt you. The Volturi did their job in making us seem worse than we really are. Anyway, two weeks from now there won't be a full moon. I'd help but my strength and speed won't be at their full extent and I'd be stuck in this form."

I nodded, taking the information better than the others. Alice's voice rang through the momentary silence. "Why did you shoot Bella?"

"So that's what they know you as… Odd." Reston mused. Upon noticed our puzzled expression he explained. "When I met her she went by Bella as well."

Bella just made a face. Emmett piped in. "So are you going to tell us or what?"

Reston looked momentarily confused before he realized what Emmett was talking about. "Oh right. It was nothing, just this thing that we have. When ever I see Bella I shoot her… It doesn't hurt her but it boosts my ego knowing that I managed to create a weapon that could actually break through her skin."

7 pairs of eyes questioned his sanity. He seemed unperturbed. "Anyway I'm a little hungry now…"

* * *

**I'm really sorry for not updating earlier... so much has been going on; I'm a little over my head right now and so I decided to step back for a small break and right this.. writing has always calmed me. I'm also going to briefly go on about how fabulous my Valentines Day... It was absolutely amazingly incredible! :) REVIEW!!! (please) So I just wanted to ask... did anyone expect the Child of the Moon thing? Alos do you think I captured the overall look correctly? Sorry, I just got curious. Riiiight, so imma let you kiddies hit that button and review, Me promises that me will try to get more chapters up soon. **


	18. Apologies

***IMPORTANT***

Ok so I kinda hate myself for doing this... I prided myself in never putting out an Author's Note because I know how horrible they are. But I find this mandatory. I was earlier debating on whether or not to put this story on hiatus but I'm not going to. I will try to post a new chapter up every week but things right now are chaotic. My parents who have been married for 20 years (this year being their 21st) are getting a divorce. Even more things than that are going on and I'm finding it kind of hard to handle at the moment. Anyway, I'm currently working on the next chapter. It is almost done and I'm gonna try to post it up soon. I don't know if i have any readers left (that was my own fault... sorry) but here is a sneak peak anyway:

**Rosalie looked at Bella in panic, her eyes were wide. Jasper put a claming hand on her shoulder but you could tell he wasn't doing to well himself. Rosalie's voice was almost a shriek when she spoke up. "You're leaving?"**


	19. Showtime

Bella rolled her eyes. "Aren't you always?"

"Yes..." Reston responded with a grin.

"Just go get the food yourself. You know were to look." Bella said.

"Aren't you going to lead me there, after all, I am a guest." Reston said teasingly.

"You know I need to get as much training time with them as I can before I have to leave again." Reston nodded and left.

Rosalie looked at Bella in panic, her eyes were wide. Jasper put a claming hand on her shoulder but you could tell he wasn't doing to well himself. Rosalie's voice was almost a shriek when she spoke up. "You're leaving?"

"What I meant was that soon is going to start again in a few days and it would be a little suspicious if we all were absent so I'm going to be going to school everyday just to keep up with appearances. You guys could just call in and say that you're on extended vacation… meanwhile you'd be training here while I'm away." Bella hurriedly explained. We all relaxed. I could tell that no one had even thought about the fact that our two week break was almost over. Rosalie's expression was one of immense relief. Rosalie had come to admire Bella greatly over the little time that we'd known her and considered her part of the family… which was a great feat considering that this was Rosalie we were talking about. Regardless, everyone else did as well and it was strange trying to imagine the family without Bella in the picture.

Bella cleared her throat, trying to clear the awkward silence that had settled. "Umm… Why don't we continue training?"

Everyone nodded and Bella stepped back up in front. Emmett's face broke out into a grin. "Could I try to go against you?"

"Sure," Bella responded, her voice showing that she was restraining laughter. Emmett stood in front of Bella, not even crouching. A cocky smirk placed on his face. Emmett didn't move; he just stood there. Due to his immobility Bella had to make the first move. She eyed him suspiciously for a second, briefly circling around him, seeming to look for something. Suddenly Bella stopped moving and lunged, Emmett moved a millisecond before Bella could grab him. Her leg shot out and hooked onto Emmett's right leg, catching him by surprise and unbalancing him. She skillfully twisted herself so she was in front of him. Emmett wriggled out of her grip and then crouched down, grabbing her by the stomach and flipping her over so she hit the ground hard. I had to maintain a straight expression although internally I wasn't too happy about that… even if Bella was so much stronger than she looked. Bella quickly scrambled up. She stood there for a few seconds before jumping at Emmett's side. He moved once again just before she could get him. She tried to get him again and he did the same. Soon they were wildly moving; Emmett always moving right before Bella could get him. Then he moved so that he was behind Bella. He tried to grab for her when she elbowed him in the gut and twirled around. She blocked the hand that was flying toward her face easily and moved so she restrained him the same way she did Jasper earlier.

"You're so going to kick those newborn's butts." Bella said smugly, a smile on her face as she let go of Emmett. "That was a great strategy."

Emmett looked pleased. "I know."

Rose rolled her eyes at her husband's response. Rose's hand let go of my arm which she had subconsciously begun to grip while Bella and Emmett were fighting. I smiled at her before I started to rub my arm once she looked away. Alice was watching me, amusement clear on her expression and I mouthed 'Ow' to her just for her amusement. Alice laughed out loud. Carlisle's gaze went over to Alice and he looked at her questioningly, she smirked and just shook her head.

Emmett looked at Bella with a strange expression on his face. "That was so weird though, fighting with you was different. Do you know what I mean Jasper?"

"Yeah, it was weird… I don't know how to explain it though." Jasper agreed.

Bella smiled slightly. "Naturally happens when I try to fight. I'll try to tone it down a little bit after everyone has had their turn."

Slowly everyone had their turn in fighting. Admittedly it was pretty hard for me to watch Esme fight; especially when Bella continued to fight the same way, not even toning it down a little bit for Esme's sake. She taught her patiently though, on what she was doing wrong. I tried to busy my mind, by thinking of pointless things just to lessen the nervousness of fighting against Bella. Jasper kept looking over at me in irritation. _Tone it down Edward._ I shrugged sheepishly at him and stepped forward as Esme returned to her original spot.

I crouched a few feet away from Bella. The air seemed to be crackling around us. I suddenly felt such intense unidentifiable emotions that I had to blink a few times to recover. I stood there, waiting for Bella to make the first move. She noticed and grinned at me. Quick as ever she darted forward getting hold of my arm. I tried to twist it out of her grasp like I had seen Alice do at one point. It worked and I aimed a punch at her stomach, trying to distract her. While she blocked the punch I swung my legs around her own sending us crashing to the floor but Bella was prepared. She wriggled away and got on top of me. She looked really sexy at that moment and it took all my will power to stay put. She was leaning in and my defensive reflexes kicked in as I pushed her over so I was on top of her. Soon we were rolling all over the place and it ended with Bella on top of me her lips inches away from my neck, clearly signaling that she won. I felt the lightest of kisses on my neck, so light that I wasn't even sure that it happened. Bella got up and held a hand for me to grab onto. I gladly took it.

"Good game." I said with a smile.

Bella looked over at me with a grin. "You aren't too bad yourself."

"So what was that feeling when we were fighting?" I asked, still confused.

Bella made a face. "Basically it was the deepest emotions coming up, it is meant for me to start feeding on your feelings and weakening my opponent during the fight."

I didn't fail to notice Esme's delicate shudder and by Bella's grim expression she didn't either. I tried to lighten the mood. "So where is Reston?"

Bella waved her hand. "I think he is in Asia now…"

Emmett laughed. Bella raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm serious."

"Oh." Was all Emmett said in response.

Bella smiled. "That's the way things go between Reston and I. It has been for a long time… it's for reasons you probably wouldn't understand. But either way, I heard so much more in everything he said than you did."

Carlisle looked at her, intrigued. "What do you mean? Does he have some kind of communication power?"

"No," Bella said, shaking her head. "We just speak in…codes I guess you can say. Most the things he says have deeper meaning than you would understand and after all the time I've spent with him I've learned how to decipher what he is saying. It doesn't make sense really when I'm trying to understand it; I'm just not sure how to put it."

I nodded slightly. "I think I get it."

"So you guys should go and get ready." Bella said. She wore a slightly apologetic look on her face. I looked at her questioningly.

"For what?" Alice eagerly asked.

Bella frowned. "A bar… James will be waiting. Of course he won't be there in person; he'd send someone, a newborn, instead."

Jasper looked confused. "But why would we need any communication with James?"

"It's not about communicating with him in any way, I just need him to send another one of his newborns so I can get a taste of their powers and work out how I am going to block them out… If I can, which I'm confident I will be able to." Bella explained. Everyone nodded, understanding the plan.

Bella looked a little nervous. "You guys might want to uhh dress accordingly. This bar isn't exactly the most accommodating place."

"Dress how?" Rose asked suspiciously.

Five minutes later Bella, Alice, Esme, and Rose paraded back outside with us. I looked at them in shock. Bella was wearing extremely short shorts and a grimy looking lacy black camisole. Her hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail and her face was heavily coated with makeup. The make up didn't accentuate her beauty but instead hid it. Rosalie was wearing a dark red short dress a bit of her bra peaking out underneath (I shuddered slightly at seeing my sister like that), it also looked dirty and she went over board on the make up as well. They must've put something like henna powder in her hair because it didn't look like its normally brilliant shade of blonde hair but instead a dirty blonde color. Alice was wearing a black corset and a matching black skirt that was extremely short. She was wearing heavier make up than the others and it was slightly smeared at the lips. I was relieved to see Esme looking like her usual self; I don't think I would be able to handle seeing my mother dressed like the others.

We all stood there for a few seconds in stunned silence. Emmett was the first to speak. "Whoa…"

Bella smiled wryly. "I figured Esme and Carlisle could just stay home… you guys would stick out like sore thumbs anyway."

"So I'm finally going to a bar without my parents." Emmett joked around earning a laugh from everyone.

Carlisle let out a breath as he looked at the girls once again. "I'd prefer that you wouldn't do this but since it is necessary I guess there is no avoiding it. Although I am glad Esme and I aren't going. That would be a little more than I could handle."

Esme smiled at him and placed leaned in against him. Bella watched them with a light expression before she turned to us, humor evident on her features. "It's your turns to get dressed."

I groaned slightly. Bella laughed at me and grabbed my hand, dragging me inside. She took me to a room that seemed to be a dressing room. I sat down in the chair that was in front of the mirror. Bella stared at me for a second before looking away. "I think I know just what to put you in."

She came back a few seconds later, a black hoodie in hand with a dirty white t-shirt and dark washed faded jeans that were a bit worn out on some parts. "Put these on."

She left the room as I put the clothing on. It felt scratchy against my skin but I ignored it, once I was done Bella came back into the room. She grinned and made me sit back down in the chair. She went back to the corner of the room and rummaged through a bunch of what seemed to be props. I realized that the room was a costume room. I smiled at the thought of Bella in one of the disguises here. She tossed something onto my lap. Curiously I looked down at it.

"A cigarette box?" I asked skeptically.

Bella shrugged. "It's all part of the disguise."

She came up to me, a small black box in her hand and a make up case. She then stood between my legs and started brushing powders all over my face.

"So why are we going so deep into this whole thing, why can't we just meet the guy there and then leave?" I asked as I watched her.

She began to explain. "The guy he originally sent to you guys was to make you curious. He had a bit of James scent on him so you would know him to be an enemy, although I think all of you were too occupied in trying to figure out what the message meant to notice and when I was getting rid of him I found a piece of paper in his pocket that he was supposed to give you guys telling you that you guys needed to meet at the place we're going. The cryptic message was meant to make you curious so you would go to the place and try to learn more. James specifically chose this bar because he thought you guys would come in looking like yourselves. If you came in looking like you guys normally do people would get suspicious and they wouldn't let you leave. They would probably try to take you out or something along those lines which would just lead to disaster period. And if that happened you guys would be too busy trying to fix that mess to try to understand why you even had to meet with this guy. The guy would've had your scent and he then would've went back to James with all your scents which James would've tried to use to find out where you guys are currently staying. But of course I have no intentions of letting this person go back."

I let out a breath. "That is a master plan."

Bella laughed. "I know… and now you are done."

I looked at myself in the mirror. My normally uncontrollable hair was now straight and it had more of a brown tint to it, the red was almost fully eliminated. It was still messy though. My skin looked a bit darker and I seemed to have bruises underneath my eyes and I looked like a druggie. I laughed out loud when I saw myself. Bella giggled and then handed me a box of contacts. I put them in and my eyes turned a muddy brown color.

"Well don't you look fantastic." Bella stated, rolling her eyes. I opened the cigarette box and took one out and held it in my hand, near my mouth, the way I had seen some humans do.

"Lets go, I want to show them." Bella exclaimed grabbing my hand and pulling me in tow. I chuckled quietly and followed. We arrived to where the others were and they all stared.

Jasper spoke up. "You've got some insane skills Bella."

"Definitely." Emmett agreed as he stared at me. Everyone else just started laughing.

"Ok, Emmett's next." Bella announced. They went back inside an only a few minutes later they were both back. Emmett was wearing a grey muscle shirt dirty cargo pants that seemed to have ink splatters on them. His hair was extremely messy and his face looked sunken in, his eyes were a dull shade of green. His exposed arms had what seemed to be marks from heroin injections all over them. Jasper went next and came back looking completely different. His cheekbone seemed to be more prominent giving him a sickly look, as though he'd been on too many drugs. His hair was still blonde but it seemed to be toned down somehow. His eyes were brown and he was wearing a dark coat and dark grey skinny jeans that were worn out at the bottom. We all applauded. Bella smiled and humored us by curtsying.

"So I managed to get my hands on some inconspicuous cars; except only two can go in one of them. The rest of you will fit in the other car." Bella explained. Rosalie flashed me a grin.

"I think you and Edward should be in one car." Rose said. I silently thanked her. Bella easily agreed. Soon we were getting into a small rusty red car that was missing a tail light and had a huge dent on the side. Bella was driving of course.

"You know," She began as she glanced over at me, "it's really hard not to just stop this car and start fixing it up."

I started to laugh and pretty soon she joined in. "I swear you and Rose are long lost sisters."

"So you look…" I struggled for words, trying not to offend her.

She lightly poked me on the side and rolled her eyes. "Like a prostitute?"

I poked her back, a grin on my face. "Yeah kind of."

"Well you look like a drug addict." Bella said, poking me once again.

"Touché," I stated as I childishly poked her back, trying to be the last one to do so. Bella seemed to have the same idea because she did the same. I felt as though we were in elementary school. I started laughing and Bella did too. Then the car came to a halt.

"Well," Bella said as she grabbed my hand, "Its show time."

* * *

**Ok so like I said in the Authors Note, I'm reaaaaaally sorry for not updating sooner but to make it up to you I made this chapter longer... :) Sorry if there are any grammer mistakes, I was not in the mood to look through the whole thing again and look out for any errors. Anyway reviews make me extremely happy so please review. And I want to send out a big thanks to all the people who responded to the AN, you guys are the best readers anyone could have! You seriously have no idea how much that brightened my day! So remember, review!!**


	20. Strangers

We got out of the car and I held onto Bella's hand. She looked at me for a brief second and gave me her signature brilliant smile. I briefly shook my head, trying to clear my befuddled thoughts. I tried not to look at Bella to much because even now, with all the makeup and horrible clothing, she was still beautiful to me. It really didn't matter how she looked, because in my books Bella would always be beautiful to me. Internally I rolled my eyes at myself, it was all so cliché.

Bella looked back at me and I realized I was trailing a little bit behind. I smiled and easily caught up before we stood outside the door for a second and then walked in. I almost gagged. The air outside had made the smell almost undetectable but inside it was absolutely horrible. There was a musty scent mixed with smoke, alcohol, some other illegal substances, and throw up. I saw Bella make a face beside me and I looked at her as though to say 'tell me about it', Bella smiled slightly before her facial expression turned indifferent. I realized we were in house, the entire left side was slightly caved in and it was darker and more shadowy than the rest of the room, as though it wasn't dark enough already. There were people passed out on the floor, puke beside their heads. There were people making out on the couches. I was able to pick out a few drug dealers by their thoughts, and then of course there were the people they were dealing them too. The sound of faint music came to my ears and I wasn't even sure that the human's could hear it. I eyed the entire place with distaste but was careful not to show it.

Bella led me over to a bar like table and we sat down on the mismatched stools in front of it. I took out my cigarette box and fumbled for a second before taking one out and lighting it. I just held it in front of me rather than actually do anything, not that I would even be sure what to do. I made sure to put it near my lips at times to make it look like I was actually using it, as to not make people suspicious and help make me blend in more. I was distinctly aware of Bella murmuring something to someone who approached us as I scanned the entire room. I looked back at Bella and saw a man handing her a beer bottle. I tried not to show my disgust. Once the man was gone, Bella set the bottle down on the table rather than drinking anything from it. She just kept the top off and occasionally, subtly emptied out a bit of it onto the absorbent floor rug. I cracked a small smile at that as we sat there, waiting for the other to come. By previous agreement they were going to come half an hour later as to not make us so suspicious because we arrived in a big group.

I looked around us before reaching for a pen and pad of paper that I saw on the other side of the table. I looked at Bella and she briefly raised an eyebrow at me.

_Do you know which one he is? I can't smell anything._

I saw Bella look down at the paper for a brief second as I pushed it to her before she took the pen from me. I heard the light scratching sound of the pen before she slid the paper back to me.

_Yes, he concealed his scent with alcohol and smoke, by the looks of it he's been here all day so he really smelled like the rest of them, which is why you couldn't smell him. He is the one that is on the left side of the room at the very end. Don't look and make him aware that you know he is here._

I took the information in and ignored the itching desire to look over at him. I tried to read his mind but it was obvious that he was aware that I was a mind reader because his thoughts kept on repeating one word over and over again. I quickly wrote back.

_How'd you notice him?_

Bella looked down at the paper. A faint smile on her lips before scribbling back a reply.

_I know, you're probably expecting some superhuman trick or something (am I right or what?) but while it may have passed your attention, I was fully aware that his eyes are bright red._

I put my hand over my face as I realized I had completely overlooked that detail. I peeked between my fingers and saw Bella silently laughing at me, her back carefully turned so that no one else would be able to see the smile that graced her lips or the way that she slightly shook, with inaudible laughs.

_I feel kind of stupid now._

She read what I wrote and her laughter doubled, a small giggle actually escaped her mouth. I noticed people nearby turning to look for a brief second. They didn't seem to find anything out of ordinary though as we quickly composed our expressions. Bella slid the notepad back to me.

_You should. You know, for a vampire you are rather unobservant._

I read the note and shook my head, smiling a little bit. If only she knew.

_Only in your company._

Bella glanced down a satisfied smirk on her lips. She grinned at me before replying.

_I'm flattered._

I was about to respond when I heard the mental shouts of my family. I turned my head a microscopic centimeter, not doubting that the vampire in the back would be watched. I saw them in the corner of my eye and was about to motion to Bella in their direction but her gaze already followed mine. She stared at Emmett who had Rosalie on one arm and Alice on the other. He was mentally laughing, and obviously enjoying himself far too much. Jasper was sulking by the door near all the drug dealers where as Emmett and the girls were heading to the bar, not next to us but not on the other end either.

Everyone's thoughts were asking me which one he was. I grinned to myself; I obviously wasn't the only unobservant one. Bella got up for a second before scurrying off to Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice. Confused, I turned and followed her after quickly ripping off the page of paper we used.

"Oh! Fancy seeing you two girls here!" Bella said just loud enough for the nearby people to hear her and avoid arousing any suspicion. Jasper's thoughts relayed to me that the vampire was suspicious now. Bella and the other girls carried on a small conversation while Emmett watched in amusement, sipping, or at least pretending to, the drink that was placed in front of him. His thoughts betrayed his exterior though as he complained about how gross it smelled and stuff along those lines.

Bella ran her hand through her hair. "It's a bit stuffy in here; wouldn't you guys like to go outside for a bit of fresh air?"

We all agreed, loud enough for the people near us to hear and headed toward the door Jasper was by. The vampire obviously took this as his signal and got up, silently making his way against the back of the wall. We managed to conceal Jasper in our little huddle as we passed him, making sure no one noticed us grabbing him and pulling him in. We started moving back so we were out of view of the people inside and much further back, now beside the cars we used to get here. My eyes zeroed in on the vampire as he slipped outside. He had inky black hair that was choppily cut, bright red eyes, lots of piercings, black jeans that were sagging, and a dark navy blue shirt on. He was obviously picked because he would blend in so easily. His thoughts momentarily betrayed him as he started cursing himself for not leaving as soon as he got out scents but he was too curious as to who Bella was and why she was here with us. He inhaled her scent and looked briefly dazzled by the astonishing smell of it. I saw Rosalie, Alice, and Bella all fixing their hair and wiping off their make-up, annoyed by merely wearing so much and desperate to get it off. I mentally rolled my eyes. The vampire approached us. I didn't have to be Jasper to notice he was angry. He was obviously annoyed that we were keeping him from his duties because we had Bella with us and he was curious and wanted to see who she was; although his curiosity was _not _our fault. I watched Bella as she took notice of the vampire for the first time.

She took in his appearance before giving him a glare. The vampire, whose name I still didn't know, briefly looked startled before glaring back.

"So Cullens," He spat our names, "you obviously know something. Who told you? Was it her?"

Rosalie looked at him, "I think you have an unfair advantage, knowing our names but us not knowing yours."

The vampire briefly looked uncertain, Jasper's thoughts confirming that, before giving Rosalie a menacing glare. "That doesn't matter."

I watched Bella cock her head to the side as she studied him. "He doesn't know his name."

"How do you know that?" the vampire scowled. Bella didn't answer but she continued to stare him down until he started to shift uncomfortably.

Finally he spoke. "Well it's no use keeping you alive, because you obviously know too much."

I rolled my eyes; this vampire obviously leaned towards dramatic as he leapt at Bella. I knew perfectly well that she knew what she was doing and she still had her automatic defensive move so I resisted the urge to crouch and attack. The vampire was floating while he tried to catch her, so that's what his power was…. Bella quickly moved away but her hand stretched out and she tore a piece of fabric off his shirt. He looked startled for a second and floated above her before he tried to swoop down and grab her from above. Bella was prepared though and she quickly jumped off the ground too and floated up. The vampire looked at her in astonishment and she laughed, her eyes sparkling. That was when I noticed the difference between their flying. Bella seemed to fly with the air while the vampire seemed to be fighting against the air with his ungainly flight. I briefly remembered our conversation from so long ago when Bella first showed us her flight and talked about how her flying was different than airplane's flight.

In seconds the vampire was dismembered and Bella pulled out her lighter and burnt the small pile. She grinned at us. "So was that awesome or what?"

We all laughed. Emmett high fived her. "Nice job."

She looked at the cars beside us in disdain. "Do you guys just want to run home?"

* * *

**Ahem. I know. I know. I promised you guys I'd be updating every week and I seriously thought I would. I'm really annoyed that I had to go against my word so early in the deal. I also know that you probably don't want to hear my excuse but I NEED to vent. I'm going to go crazy if i don't! My mom, is completely and utterly insane. She is talking about how she is going to get rid of all the tvs and computers and laptops in the house (!) and I have recently learned not to doubt her. Last week she had the internet connection disconnected and I couldn't post this chapter up even though I had it all typed up. My sister and I are obviously not going down with a fight. I've been arguing with her this entire time, I mean really, we live in the 21st century (EVERYTHING IS ON COMPUTERS!!) not the stone age. The computer is necessary for most my classes too! Uungahjgal;kg;dsagk;ljah(that is me typing out my frustration). It even makes me mad when I'm typing about it too. Agh, please review, I could use the distraction. Au Revior!**


	21. Finale

Rosalie grinned. Of course she would want to. I also had no problem with leaving the cars so in the end we all agreed to just run. Once we made it back to the castle Esme and Carlisle anxiously awaited us at the door.

"Did you get it?" Carlisle asked nervously.

Bella grinned and held up the scrap of fabric. "They'll be so surprised when their powers don't work on us!"

Emmett hooted, "We're going to show them!"

Rosalie let out a laugh and Alice squealed, matching Emmett's enthusiasm. Even Jasper allowed himself a small smile. I grinned as I watched them. Bella caught my eye and winked at me. I let out a laugh. Carlisle and Esme were both smiling, their postures relaying the relief they felt.

"Well we haven't won yet so don't get too excited." Bella scolded us but the way she said it made us have a hard time calming down; her voice was confident and much more relaxed than it had been just a day ago. Emmett just rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't be a party pooper," He whined.

She grinned. "Oh what the hell; party all you want!"

I raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged, as though to say "what can I do?". I just shook my head and smiled. Carlisle cleared his throat slightly. "Well I understand that you are going back to school soon, correct?"

Bella nodded. "Yup."

"So do you think we should train some more before you go back or that we're all set?" Carlisle asked.

Bella thought about it for a few seconds before shrugging once again. "Better safe than sorry; besides, you're still going to go up against 40 vampires. Granted, they don't all have powers now but we still should probably resume training now."

Emmett shrugged. "I'm up for it."

Everyone else's agreements followed shortly afterwards. Bella nodded. "Ok then, you guys can all change out of these clothes; I'll meet you guys back in the same field as the one we previously trained on."

We all went up to our rooms and I washed all the make up off my face before changing into a green polo and jeans. I headed back downstairs before making my way out to the field Bella had shown us. I was surprised to note I was the only one there; absentmindedly I laid down on my back and looked up at the starry night sky.

"What are you doing?"

I looked behind me and Bella seemed to melt out of the shadows. She was back to her violet-eyed form, her raven colored hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she was wearing a black lace spaghetti strap shirt and black shorts.

"Is it a crime to look at the stars?" I asked as I adjusted my position so I was sitting up. She sat beside me and crossed her legs, Indian style. She looked up at the sky.

"I guess not." She murmured, seeming almost sad. "You know, entire constellations have been lost with all the pollution in the world. This is the last place that you will ever find that you can see all the stars from."

"All of them?" I asked, amazed.

She smiled slightly. "I might've done some work."

I laughed feeling completely amazed. "Wow."

She grinned at me. "I have some talents."

"Some…" I mumbled dubiously. Who as she kidding, trying to be all modest; she had loads of talent. She lightly smacked my shoulder before leaning into me. The stars shone brighter for a second. I hesitated before I put my arm around her shoulder.

"Do you ever feel like everyone is blindly relying on you?" Bella asked, looking up at me from her spot on my shoulder.

I bitterly thought about my mind reading power. "Yeah, sometimes; I suppose it's because I can always get a look into a person's mind they expect me to know everything about them in seconds when it's much more complicated than that. There is the factor that I don't know everything, just what was on their mind at the moment. And then people just don't understand how complicated it is to decipher all the thoughts. Every thought is like a complicated puzzle. I feel like I'm completely invading people's privacy a lot of the time but its not as if I have an off switch for it."

She nodded and I felt her arms wrap around me; secretly I was ridiculously thrilled by the small gesture. "What about you? There must've been some reason you brought up the subject."

She looked unsure of herself. "Well… I don't really know."

She let out a puff of air and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Suddenly, I realize that besides the fact that I would be miserable…. If any of your lives are lost during the battle I feel like I'll be held accountable because of the hope I've given all of you; and I don't want to feel like I'm giving you false hope. I know to all of you I may seem glamorous and indestructible but sometimes I really don't feel that way and… and I just don't know…"

Her last words were muffled by my shirt because she buried her head in my shoulder, but I had heard them anyway. She peeked at me from her spot on my shoulder and she seemed embarrassed as she realized I was watching her. I lightly kissed her forehead.

"I think you've been doing a great job. And hey, no one will hold you accountable. We know that you've been doing your best and that's all we could ask for. Besides, you are a member of the family now, whether you want to be or not; everyone loves you."

I felt her cool breath on my neck as she spoke. "Thank you."

The words were almost a whisper. Her lips then brushed across the skin that was exposed to her on my neck and I resisted the desire to foolishly put my hand on the spot she kissed me; which was now tingling from the lack of contact.

"Bella," I began, looking into her eyes as her gaze finally met my own. "Bella, I-"

"Hey guys!" Emmett's voice came from somewhere outside the door. We quickly disentangled ourselves and the door burst open and Emmett bound outside and sat beside us with a loud thump.

"Hey Em," Bella responded seeming amused but I sensed an undertone of irritation in her voice. I glared at Emmett from behind Bella's back. He seemed oblivious. Suddenly Alice's petite figure danced into the room.

"Sorry we took so long guys," She apologized to Bella and I, "Emmett decided to hold us up with a play by play story of what happened out at the bar place…. Finally I just sent him here so we could get ready."

So it was Alice's fault. I gave her the death glare while Bella wasn't looking. She looked confused. _What did I do, Edward? _Her thoughts called out to me. I beckoned over to Bella while she was distracted by talking to Emmett. I mouthed the words 'I love you'. Alice's eyes widened and her mouth popped open as she realized what she interrupted. Bella finally turned to Alice and she looked at her stricken face.

"Is something wrong?" She asked looking in between the two of us. I shrugged, feeling slightly guilty. Alice tried to compose her expression but she still looked horrified about her blunder.

"No," Her voice was more high pitched than usual and she quickly cleared her throat. "Nothing is wrong."

"Ok…" Bella said dubiously as she looked between the two of us. She then just rolled her eyes before turning her attention to the door where Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Jasper stepped in.

"Great," Bella said. "Now that everyone's here we can begin."

Everyone lined up, anticipating another sparring session. Bella shook her head. "No sparring today. That had just been to see where your level of skill was at. I'm going to have you guys partnered up today and I'll explain the… drills after you guys are ready."

Everyone's eyes automatically went to their mates for their partner. Bella laughed. "I'm making the pairs."

Rosalie let go of Emmett's hand. Bella smiled as she noticed. "Alright… Who is the fastest here?"

All eyes went to me. "Ok then, Edward is my partner."

I smiled a little. Bella continued. "I'll have ….. Esme with Jasper, Carlisle with Rosalie, and Emmett and Alice."

Everyone went to stand before their partner. I stood beside Bella and smiles at her. She looked at me from underneath her lashes and shot me a grin of her own. "Ok everyone, today we're going to be doing speed drills. You will get faster this way. So… um… look at the faster person."

I looked at Bella and she laughed a little. Carlisle looked at Rose and Esme looked at Jasper. Alice and Emmett were arguing about who was faster.

"Emmett I'm faster!" Alice exclaimed. Everyone watched in amusement.

"No you're not!" Emmett said.

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Am too!" Carlisle and Esme didn't bother doing anything, knowing that when Alice and Emmett argue nothing will stop them. Jasper looked over at Bella as though to say, do something! Bella nodded and stepped forward. She stared at the two of them for a few seconds.

"Alice is faster." She said.

"How'd you figure that out?" Emmett asked, excited to hear about some new power. We all curiously waited for a response.

"I have 4 very important words for you," Bella said dramatically. "Enie- meanie- mineee-moe"

We all laughed for a second before everyone was able to regain control of themselves.

"Alright; so what I want you guys to do is for the slower person to keep striking at the faster person and the faster person to move out of the way for each strike. The purpose is for the slower person to try to strike to faster person and for the faster person to avoid being struck. Straightforward enough?"

Everyone answered with a yes. "Then you guys can begin."

As soon as she said that Emmett hit Alice on the arm. "What was that for?"  
"She said we could begin…" Emmett replied, stating the obvious.

"Yeah but I wasn't ready!" Alice complained.

Emmett smiled gloatingly. "But I still managed to hit you."

"What? No! That was unfair; you cheated."

"I did not! You never prepared yourself!"

"Um… On second thought," Bella began, "How bout I make it so that we can't hear each other?"

Carlisle, Rosalie, Jasper, Esme, and I sent Bella pleading looks. She laughed slightly at our earnest expressions. Alice and Emmett continued to argue; unaware of what was going on. Bella took a look at them before turning to us. "So you'll only be able to hear your partner until I decide that we've had enough."

We all agreed readily enough. Suddenly everything around us was silenced. I saw Emmett and Alice's lips moving but not a sound came out from them. I gave Bella a broad smile. "You're amazing, do you know that?"

She gave me a sheepish look. "So what had you wanted to tell me earlier?"

I froze and she ended up having to fix my posture for me to get moving again. "Oh…. I forgot."

"You forgot?" She deadpanned. I winced slightly. Of course I couldn't forget things; I was a vampire for crying out loud. I wanted to tell her but I just didn't think now was the right time. The spell had been broken when Emmett had joined us.

"I'll tell you later." I said, trying to redeem myself. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she looked at me.

Finally she managed a grudging smile. "I'll hold you to that."

"Tell me something," I requested.

She quickly dodged another of my swipes. "It depends on what it is."

I thought about my first question and quickly decided against it. "What era did you like the best?"

Bella looked surprised by my random question. "I'd have to say…. Victorian, Pre-Civil War."

"Is there a certain reason for Pre-Civil War?" I asked, wondering if it had anything to do with Jasper…. But then again he had been with her during the Civil War; not before it.

She gave me a look. Her voice turned accusing. "You're saying that because of Jasper aren't you?"

I was happy the others couldn't hear what we were saying. "No! I just…. Well, yes."

She looked at me sadly. "Is it too much for me to like it without having some ulterior motive?"

"I just… never mind. I'm sorry if it came out that way but I didn't intend to offend you." I explained.

Her eyes softened for a second. "It's fine Edward."

We then continued to have an idle conversation until Bella decided that we all had had enough training. I had whole heartedly agreed with her as did everyone else. Bella had us all switch roles and while I had only managed to whack Bella once or twice she kept hitting me with persistent blows. They weren't hard but the numerous beatings left me feeling weary. The few days that Bella had left with us, that would be uninterrupted continued that way, except with multiple other drills. Finally the day came when Bella had to go back to Forks for school. We ended up lounging around the castle until Bella came back home then we would fall into the pattern of training relentlessly. Bella worked us from the second she got home until the second she had to leave back to school. The days seemed to pass by in a dreamlike sequence and then before I knew it we had hours until it would become the day that Victoria, James, Laurent, and their army of vampires would attack. Bella had one last sparring session with each of us and I marveled at how much everyone's skill had improved. It was strange watching Carlisle and Esme fight; they were always so gentle and it was almost ridiculous to believe how dangerous they now were when fighting. Bella had drilled it into each of us that we couldn't show them pity or let them have any advantage over them. If the chance came we had to kill them without a second thought. There would be no room for mistakes out on the battlefield. Jasper, being the former soldier knew exactly what she meant and he continued to lecture us about that matter when Bella couldn't. They both would shoot glances at Esme and Carlisle when talking about the matter. Carlisle and Esme who were both so kind and compassionate; who could never stand to see another person in pain. They grimly nodded when either Jasper or Bella talked about it; they knew what they had to do, even if they didn't like it.

Bella's attitude had changed drastically from the night when we had retrieved the scrap of cloth. She assured me that she knew she would still be able to ward off the other vampires' powers and that that wasn't what she was nervous about. In the end she burst out, admitting that she was still scared she would loose one of us. I watched her as she took on sparring with Alice. Bella's face for once showed signs of strain. Not from the fighting but from being tired and worrying too much. It dawned on me that she never before had to actually fight with others and worry about their lives as well as her own and that it was taking its toll on her. I wanted to tell her something to ease her mind a little bit but I couldn't think of the right thing to say, the only words that popped to my mind would probably have the opposite effect. The hours passed by as everyone continued to spar and then finally it was the day that the vampire army would arrive. Bella didn't know the exact time they would come but she guessed around twilight; we didn't doubt her at all.

Even though it had only become a new day merely minutes ago we all decided that we would find a battleground first…which would be hard to do in Phoenix, which was why we were departing so early, and then we would spend the rest of the day there waiting for twilight and resting. Bella had us all follow her and she led us out of the house that was in Arizona. "Alright guys, here we'll temporarily split up in search for a battle spot. Even if they aren't attacking until twilight, remember to stay vigilant at all times. I also think it would be best if you all had at least one person with you. If any of you find a spot just come back over here, which is where we will be meeting up with each other every five minutes; to make sure no one is missing and to see if anyone found an appropriate place."

Everyone seemed eager to have Bella be their partner but in the end it was everyone with their mates and Bella with me. We all went off in different directions. Bella clutched my hand.

"I'm nervous." She whispered.

I looked at her, worried. "I'm sure everyone will be fine. You trained everyone so well; no one could've done better."

My words fell short as I realized I just couldn't find anything to say to make her feel better.

"But what if they get hurt?" Bella asked; her face lined with worry. I smoothed away the wrinkles on her forehead as she scrunched up her face in frustration.

I couldn't say anything more than, "Don't think like that Bells."

She nodded and kept silent as we continued our fruitless search. Pretty soon our five minutes were up and we went back to the house where everyone was waiting for us. They all silently shrugged showing that their attempt at finding some place was fruitless. We all split up again and searched for another place. Bella didn't voice her concerns this time but she held onto my hand even tighter than before. Another five minutes passed and Bella and I still hadn't found any place. We headed back over to the house where everyone was once again waiting for us, Rosalie and Emmett found a place and they led us to it. It was a while away but it was perfect. It was a secluded field, with a surprising amount of trees. It was so green it almost reminded me of Forks.

It was silent as we all sat down. Our trail of scents would probably confuse the vampire army for a little bit because it was all over the place but they would find us eventually. We all sat underneath the cover of the trees as the sun came out, although it was unnecessary due to the fact that no humans came out, either way we weren't risking anything and were extra cautious. No body spoke as twilight fast approached. I looked over at Bella as the sky turned crimson and orange as the sun set, she was looking at me. Quickly she averted her eyes. With a sad jolt I realized that I might not see her ever again. The sun was about to be fully obscured from view in a few minutes. I took Bella's hand and led her to a completely different section of the field. The trees were behind us and Bella and I were bathed in the red glow. Everything looked so surreal and breathtakingly beautiful.

Bella looked up at me, confused as to why I led her here. I summoned whatever nerve I had. Gently I cradled her face between my hands. "I should've told you sooner and I regret not doing so but now might be the only chance I have left to say this. Bella…. Bella I love you."

She was looking at me, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted. Only a bit of the sun remained visible but the sky was still a beautiful red. I remembered Bella telling me once that red was her favorite color.

"I think I loved you from the moment I saw you but I just didn't know it at the time. You're the most-" I stopped when I saw tears tickling delicately along her face. My heart sunk.

"Edward I love you too. I love you so much!" She cried. I looked at her forgetting all the troubles that lay ahead, her face was the beckon of light, guiding me. I brought my lips down to hers. The kiss was soft and sweet but the undertone of sadness and desperation took over in the end making it fierce and passionate. Her hands tangled themselves in my hair and I clutched her to me. With a sudden jolt we were both brought out of our bittersweet moment as we realized that it was now twilight. We held onto each other as we made our way back to the others. They all looked at us; their eyes wide. They knew I told Bella I loved her, it suppose it was obvious. But the overwhelming panic that set in prevented them from commenting. It was odd. All the time you read stories about it and see movies portraying fights such as this and it's all played out so coolly but in real life everything is different. There is an irrational terror that settles over you, the type of paralyzing terror that is never described in the movies or books. Bella's hand tightened around mine as I caught a flash of Victoria's red hair in the distance. Bella looked at me, her eyes wide and the thick black lashes framing them making her seem so innocent. She brought her lips to mine and held me closer to her. We ended our kiss as the vampire army came in sight. I knew Bella was going to be safe and that gave me a sense of profound relief. I realized now that that was why she was even more worried now; she had no assurances that I would be safe.

"I love you," I whispered to her.

She placed her hand on the side of my face. "I love you."

And then the vampires charged. It happened so suddenly that for a second I wasn't able to comprehend it. Bella's hand was torn away from mine and then with in seconds I realized that I was surrounded by three vampires. I already heard the screeching sound of vampires being torn apart. I craned my head trying to get a view of Bella. And there she was, looking positively lethal. Her raven colored hair whipping around her face and her eyes in those dangerous animalistic slits as she attack a few of the many vampires surrounding her. I yelled out as one of the new borns took advantage of my momentary distraction and bit me, trying to take off a chunk of my arm. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Esme surrounded by five vampires. She hissed and attacked one. As I lunged at the vampire that bit me I winced as I saw a chunk of Esme's arm come flying off. I ripped off the head of the vampire in front of me and kicked the other two vampires away as I saw them coming towards me. Quickly dismembered the vampire in front of me and produced that lighter I had in my pocket and set all the pieces on fire. The other two vampires screeched in fury as they saw their friend being licked up by the flames. Both of them attacked at the same time and I dodged both but then winced as I realized a vampire had come up behind me as well. It had bit a section of my hand off. Quickly I positioned myself so that I had a view of all three vampires and quickly moved and dismembered another vampire. Two were still left and they both came charging at me from the opposite directions of each other. I dodged and they both hit each other with a loud crack that rivaled the sound of thunder. I took advantage of it and bit both of their head's off. They were left blind and I was able to take them both apart easily. I tossed all the pieces into the now huge fire that was near me. I saw Bella surrounded by James, Victoria, and Laurent. I wanted to go help but another new born charged at me. I bit my neck but not hard enough to be able to take it off. The new born screeched in fury and tried to ram me. I sidestepped and grabbed it by the hair. I took advantage of its exposed neck and ripped it off. The rest of its body was easily broken apart and tossed in the fire. I flinched as I saw a portion of Carlisle's leg on the ground beside me. I kicked it away from the fire, knowing that there wasn't much else I could do about it at the moment. I saw Rosalie taking on 5 vampires at once and went to aid her. In minutes we had all the bodies torn up and in the roaring fire. I looked over and saw Emmett finishing up the vampire in front of him and moving on to the next one. Suddenly a piece of Victoria's head came flying at me. With a flick of my hand I caught it and threw it into the fire. I noticed Bella throwing the last piece of Victoria in the fire and with that Victoria, Laurent, and James were no more.

I looked around wildly trying to see if anyone needed help but Bella was already at Jasper's side, fighting off one of the many vampires that surrounded him. With a sudden rush I realized that besides the ones that Carlisle and Alice were fighting there were no more. With a sudden rush I realized that I couldn't find Emmett and Esme. Horror struck me and I looked at the floor trying to find parts of their bodies, hoping against hope that they weren't thrown into the fire. With a surge of relief I found Emmett's entire torso and part of his head all attached. My eyes zeroed in on the rest of his body which wasn't too far away. I quickly sealed all the pieces together with my venom.

"Help me find Esme." I commanded him. He nodded and got Rosalie to help too. We searched, avoiding the chaos that Carlisle, Alice, Bella, and Jasper were in. A few seconds passed and then Emmett was waving part of Esme's head in the air. Her arms and another part of her head were right by it. Then I noticed a few feet away was the rest of her body, in pieces in a pile. A lighter was beside it and I cried out in joy as I realized that Bella must've gotten there before the vampire could light Esme's body. Rosalie, Emmett, and I worked together to piece her back to her normal state. In seconds she was perfectly fine again. I let out a sigh of relief as she engulfed us in a giant hug. We all bound over to the area that the others were at just in time to see Jasper throw the last piece of a vampire into the fire. It had all happened so fast that I could hardly believe that it was over, but here we were all still alive. Everyone, except Bella of course, had new bite marks but the tingling/burning sensation was a small price to pay. My eyes locked with Bella's and she ran over to me, throwing her arms around my neck and kissed me. I could sense everyone's happiness as they watched the two of us.

Finally we broke apart. Bella held up a piece of someone's body. "Oh, by the way Carlisle I think you might need this."

He took it from her with a smile and suddenly engulfed her with a hug. Esme hugged her next and soon we were all hugging each other, just thankful to be alive. We managed to get everyone perfectly pieced back together after that… except for Emmett. Part of one of his fingers must've flown into one of the fires but other than that everyone was okay. It seemed almost ridiculous that we would be going to school the next day but we were; that didn't stop us from partying crazily once we got back to the house. The next night we all went back to our actual house in Forks. Bella came with us and is now staying in my room. I was honored when she asked me to stay with her one night while she tried to go to sleep for once. She didn't have a single nightmare.

~Epilogue~

Bella twirled around, her long black dress swishing. She laughed as I brought her back to my arms and dramatically dipped her. The orchestra's song ended and I noticed the rest of the family watching the two of us from a distance. They knew what was going to happen. The orchestra began to play again and I danced with and twirled Bella until we were outside in the rose garden. We were on the small bridge that had roses and vines growing on it, in its place above the small man made stream beneath us. The fragrance of the roses all around us drifted in the air. The stars and moon gave everything a silvery glow. From behind us I could still hear the orchestra playing and the laughs from everyone in the ball room. This song ended as well and gently kissed Bella on the lips before I let her go. She smiled at me, her face glowing with happiness. I knelt down to the ground and pulled out a velvet case and opened it, to reveal a diamond ring.

"Bella, will you marry me?" I asked softly.

Her face broke out into a radiant smile and happy tears trickled out of her eyes, glistening like diamonds. Her answer was short and sweet as she murmured. "Yes."

I smiled and got up and kissed her. I heard the applause from my family and realized that they had come out to watch. Bella laughed and kissed me again.

* * *

**I'm so sorry for the wait. I really couldn't do much about it. I was going to make the end of the story much better and I know that there are still so many things I haven't properly explained but I had to cut it short. Anyway, I'd like to thanks all of you for being such great readers. Admittedly it was a little hard to finish up this story, besides the obvious reasons I've also grown attatched to it. Anyway, I'm going to be coming out with a new story soon so keep your eyes out for that! I love you people! So au revoir for the last time.~**

**Review.**


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